Our Presenter:

Lynn Gillespie is a Research Scientist in Botany at the Canadian Museum of Nature and an Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa.  Her research focuses on the systematics and evolution of flowering plants, especially grasses, spurges and Arctic plants.  Lynn completed her BSc at Carleton University and her PhD at the University of California, Davis.

The Presentation:

Flowering plants have evolved to become the most diverse and abundant group of plants.   Dr. Gillespie will give an overview of the diversity and evolution of flowering plants and explore why they have become so successful.  She will also discuss how new ways of studying plants are changing our understanding of their evolution and hence their classification. Examples will include some from our local flora and others from her lab’s research on grasses and spurges.

Biography:

Lynn Gillespie is a Research Scientist in Botany at the Canadian Museum of Nature and an Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Ottawa.  Her research focuses on the systematics and evolution of flowering plants, especially grasses, spurges and Arctic plants.  Lynn completed her BSc at Carleton University and her PhD at the University of California, Davis. She has conducted fieldwork around the world, including South America, southeast Asia, Madagascar, Australia, and the Canadian Arctic.