Carl Lewis is Director of Palm Research at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. He conducted the DNA analysis that resurrected the genus Ponapea. He specializes in the molecular genetics of palms, is coauthor of the new Genera Palmarum and created the Fairchild Guide to Palms. This expedition adds to his global repertoire of palm field research experience.
Christie Jones has been Curator of Palms and Cycads at Fairchild since 2005. In addition to researching palms in the field, her time is spent caring for the world-renowned palm collection at Fairchild. Her travels have taken her in search of lost species in the Jamaican cockpit, teaching horticulture classes in Panama and helping create the new National Botanic Garden in Guatemala.
Steve Perlman has been Field Botanist with the National Tropical Botanic Garden for thirty years. He is an exploratory botanist, has discovered more than 40 new species of plants and rediscovered more than 20 species thought to be extinct. He is currently involved with the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, working with critically endangered species in Hawaii and the Pacific.
Faith Bishock, Trustee of Fairchild and a Director of the International Palm Society, is a bonafide palm enthusiast. She has been growing rare and exotic palms for nearly 30 years and currently resides in Sarasota, Florida. She has travelled extensively throughout her life and is always in search of the next great palm.
Posted on September 19, 2008
