What he does

Conducts botanical field surveys, fields plant information requests, identifies plants, edits botanical materials, interacts with the public upon request.

How he got into science

I have always enjoyed cataloging and sorting items. Baseball cards, stamps, marbles, you name it. My goal was to be a mailman or stock clerk. In the summer of 1975 I worked in the Division of State Parks, Dept. of Land & Natural Resources. A planner there, Wayne Souza, enjoyed taking friends on mountain hikes and identifying all the native plants. It was a revelation! I had been a hiker for a few years, but oblivious to nature's bounty. I was now hooked on cataloging native Hawaiian plants. That interest grew into a passion as I learned more and more about Hawaii’s fascinating and unique natural history.

Favorite accomplishments

Participating in production of 3 significant, recently published botanical references: the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i (1990), Hawai‘i's Ferns and Fern Allies (2003), and A Tropical Garden Flora (2005). Finally getting married at age 52.

In his free time

Clyde enjoys basketball and volleyball, cataloging his music in iTunes, learning the ukulele, going hiking, taking photos.