Date: June 28, 2004 04073 For Immediate Release DR. TOM CROAT AWARDED BY NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN AND INTERNATIONAL AROID SOCIETY (ST. LOUIS): Dr. Thomas B. Croat, P. A. Schulze Curator of Botany at the Missouri Botanical Garden, has been selected to receive the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration from the National Tropical Botanical Garden. The prestigious award honors “distinguished services to humanity” in the field of plant exploration. Croat has also been selected to receive the 2004 H. W. Schott Award for Excellence in Aroid Research from the International Aroid Society, Inc., in honor of his continuous contributions to the study of aroids for more than three decades. Croat began his tenure at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1967 as part of a joint venture with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to write the Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Soon after, Croat was named Curator of Summit Herbarium and Library, the Garden’s field station in Panama, and later Curator of Phanerograms. In 1977 he became P. A. Schulze Curator of Botany, a position he currently maintains. Croat is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the plant family Araceae. He has traveled to numerous tropical countries for plant exploration, described over 450 new species and collected over 90,000 plants throughout his distinguished career. Croat was honored with the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration for his exploration and innovation in plant discovery, cultivation of “new and important plants that hold significant promise as agricultural or horticultural varieties” and his role in rare and endangered plant species conservation. He was selected from a field of scientists nominated by botanical garden directors and fellow research scientists from around the world. The National Tropical Botanical Garden has awarded the David Fairchild Medal since 1998 to honor those who continue the legacy of Dr. (over) ADD ONE: Croat Fairchild, a noted botanist and agricultural explorer credited with the U.S. cultivation of many plants including alfalfa, mangoes, horseradish and bamboo. Recipients of the award receive a citation, medal and $5,000 cash prize. Croat will accept the award and lecture on his work during a gala dinner in Coconut Grove, Fl. in Feb. 2005. The International Aroid Society, Inc. selected Croat for the 2004 H. W. Schott Award for Excellence in Aroid Research for his accomplishments in advancing knowledge of the aroid family. Throughout the course of his career, he has published over 60 papers on aroids and is credited with building the Missouri Botanical Garden’s extensive Araceae collection. He currently serves as scientific editor of the International Aroid Society as well as an honorary member of its board of directors. Croat will accept the H. W. Schott Award on Nov. 26 at the IXth International Aroid Symposium in Kuching, Malaysia. The award is named for Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, an Austrian botanist specializing in the study of Araceae in the 19th century. Croat received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Simpson College and his master’s and doctorate in botany from the University of Kansas-Lawrence. When he is not conducting botanical field research in other parts of the world, Croat resides in Pacific, Mo. # # # The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 145 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for research, education and horticultural display. .