• NMNH Home ›
• Research & Collections ›
• Botany ›
• Staff ›

Botany Staff

---

Education
     BS, Oregon State University, 1978.`
     MS, New Mexico State Universtity, 1980.`
     PhD, New Mexico State University, 1986.

Areas of Specialty
     I am principally interested in grasses (fam. Poaceae), and specialize in the taxonomy of cool season grasses (Pooideae), particularly the genus Poa (ca. 500 species world-wide). Having spent 8 years conducting molecular research on relationships among grasses at family, subfamily, tribal and genus levels, I now am able to devote my time to the study these plants in the herbarium and the field, while continuing to collaborate with colleagues on molecular studies. Poa possibly has the most variation in breeding systems of any genus of plants, and I study this variation to better assess the nature of species in this genus. I also specialize in grass nomenclature and help to maintain and update the grass data in TROPICOS (Missouri Bot. Gards. taxonomic database).

Recent Publications - (All Publications)

Giussani, L. M., Anton, Ana M., Negritto, M. A., Romanutti, A. A. and Soreng, Robert J. 2012. Poa L. In: Zuloaga, Fernando O., Rúgolo de Agrasar, Zulma E. and Anton, Ana M., Monocotyledoneae. Poaceae: Aristiodoideae a Pharoideae. Córdoba: Graficamenta Ediciones,(Flora Argentina: Flora Vascular de la República Argentina) pp.284-339.

Peterson, Paul M., Soreng, Robert John and Smith, S. F. 2012. Poaceae. In: Acevedo-Rodriguez, P. and Strong, M. T., Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution,(Smithsonian Contributions to Botany) pp.714-766.

Refulio-Rodriguez, N., Columbus, J. T., Gillespie, L. J., Peterson, Paul M. and Soreng, Robert John 2012. Molecular phylogeny of Dissanthelium (Poaceae: Pooideae) and its taxonomic implications. Systematic Botany, 37(1): 122-133. doi:10.600/036364412X616701

Romaschenko, K., Peterson, Paul M., Soreng, Robert John, Garcia-Jacas, N., Futorna, O. and Susanna, Alfonso 2012. Systematics and evolution of the needle grasses (Poaceae: Pooideae: Stipeae) based on analysis of multiple chloroplast loci, ITS, and lemma micromorphology. Taxon, 61(1): 18-44.

Soreng, Robert J. 2012. Clave de los Generos de Pooideae. In: Zuloaga, Fernando O., Rúgolo de Agrasar, Zulma E. and Anton, Ana M., Monocotyledoneae. Poaceae: Pooideae. Córdoba: Graficamenta Ediciones,(Flora Argentina: Flora Vascular de la República Argentina) pp.25-31.

Soreng, Robert J. 2012. Tribu Poeae R. Br. In: Zuloaga, Fernando O., Rúgolo de Agrasar, Zulma E. and Anton, Ana M., Monocotyledoneae. Poaceae: Pooideae. Córdoba: Graficamenta Ediciones,(Flora Argentina: Flora Vascular de la República Argentina) pp.97-102.

Soreng, Robert J. and Gillespie, L. J. 2012. Nicoraepoa. In: Zuloaga, Fernando O., Rúgolo de Agrasar, Zulma E. and Anton, Ana M., Monocotyledoneae. Poaceae: Pooideae. Córdoba: Graficamenta Ediciones,(Flora Argentina: Flora Vascular de la República Argentina) pp.270-277.

Soreng, Robert J. and Peterson, Paul M. 2012. Revision of Poa L. (Poaceae, Pooideae, Poeae, Poinae) in Mexico: new records, re-evaluation of P. ruprechtii, and two new species, P. palmeri and P. wendtii. PhytoKeys, 15: 1-104. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.15.3084

Peterson, Paul M., Soreng, Robert John, Styer, D., Neubauer, D., Morgan, R. and Yadon, V. 2011. Agrostis lacuna-vernalis (Pooideae: Poeae: Agrostidinae), a new species from California. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 5(2): 421-426.

Romaschenko, K., Peterson, Paul M., Soreng, Robert John, Futorna, O. and Susanna, A. 2011. Phylogenetics of Piptatherum s.l. (Poaceae: Stipeae): evidence for a new genus, Piptatheropsis, and resurrection of Patis. Taxon, 60(6): 1703-1716.

Soreng, Robert J. and Fish, Lyn 2011. Catabrosa versus Colpodium (Poaceae: Poeae) in southern Africa, with a key to these genera and their species in Africa. Kew Bulletin, 66(1): 101-110. doi:10.1007/s12225-011-9267-y

Davidse, Gerrit, Soreng, Robert John and Peterson, Paul M. 2010. Poa unispiculata, a new gynodioecious species of cushion grass from Peru with a single spikelet per inflorescence (Poaceae: Pooideae: Poeae: Poinae). Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 4(1): 37-44.

Davis, Jerrold I. and Soreng, Robert John 2010. Migration of endpoints of two genes relative to boundaries between regions of the plastid genome in the grass family (Poaceae). American Journal of Botany, 97(5): 874-892.

Gillespie, Lynn J., Soreng, Robert John, Paradis, L. Michel and Bull, Roger D. 2010. Phylogeny and reticulation in Poinae subtribal complex based on nrITS, ETS, and trnTLF data. In: Seberg, O., Peterson, G., Barfod, A. and Davis, J. I., Diversity, Phylogeny, and Evolution in the Monocotyledons. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, pp.589-617.

Romaschenko, K., Peterson, Paul M., Soreng, Robert John, Garcia-Jacas, N. and Susanna, A. 2010. Phylogenetics of Stipeae (Poaceae: Pooideae) based on plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. In: Seberg, O., Petersen, G., Barfod, A. S. and Davis, J. I., Diversity, phylogeny, and evolution in the Monocotyledons. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, pp.511-537.

Saarela, Jeffrey M., Liu, Qing, Peterson, Paul M., Soreng, Robert John and Paszko, Beata 2010. Phylogenetics of the grass 'Aveneae-type plastid DNA clade' (Poaceae: Pooideae, Poeae) based on plastid and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence data. In: Seberg, O., Petersen, G., Barfod, A. S. and Davis, J. I., Diversity, phylogeny, and evolution in the Monocotyledons. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, pp.557-587.

Soreng, Robert J. 2010. Coleataenia Griseb. (1879): The correct name for Sorengia Zuloaga & Morrone (2010) (Poaceae: Paniceae). Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 4(2): 691-692.

Soreng, Robert J., Bull, Roger D. and Gillespie, Lynn J. 2010. Phylogeny and reticulation in Poa based on plastid trnTLF and nrITS sequences with attention to diploids. In: Seberg, O., Peterson, G., Barfod, A. and Davis, J. I., Diversity, Phylogeny, and Evolution in the Monocotyledons. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, pp.619-643.

Soreng, Robert J. and Peterson, Paul M. 2010. Poa ramifer (Poaceae: Pooideae: Poeae: Poinae), a new aerially branching gynomonoecious species from Peru. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 4(2): 587-594.

Catalan, P., Soreng, Robert John and Peterson, Paul M. 2009. Festuca aloha and F. molokaiensis (Poaceae): Loliinae), two new species from Hawai'i. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 3(1): 51-58.

Davidse, G., Soreng, Robert John and Peterson, Paul M. 2009. Agrostopoa (Poaceae, Pooideae, Poeae, Poinae), a new genus with three species from Colombia. Novon, 23(1): 32-40.

Gillespie, Lynn J., Soreng, Robert John and Jacobs, Surrey W. L. 2009. Phylogenetic relationships of Australian Poa (Poaceae: Poinae), including molecular evidence for two new genera, Saxipoa and Sylvipoa. Australian Systematic Botany, 22(6): 413-436.

Soreng, Robert J. 2009. 8.10 Poa L. In: Anderton, L. K. and Barkworth, Mary E., Grasses of the Intermountain Region. Logan, Utah: Intermountain Herbarium, pp.108-135.

Soreng, Robert J., Gillespie, Lynn J. and Jacobs, Surrey W. L. 2009. Saxipoa and Sylvipoa -- two new genera and a new classification for Australian Poa (Poaceae: Poinae). Australian Systematic Botany, 22(6): 401-412.

[ TOP ]