Geoffrey Creber
The content of this website is taken almost word for word from the draft manuscript by Geoffrey T. Creber, Ph.D (1923-2018). The manuscript, entitled ‘The Descent of Plants‘, was compiled over a number of years until completion in approximately 2005. Geoffrey’s ambition was to create an overview of plant evolution, with enough technical information to spark the curiosity of the budding palaeobotanist, but also to be of general interest.
Amongst palaeobotanists Geoff was widely known and respected for his work on fossil wood anatomy, tree growth and fossil forests with particular focus on wood growth rings and palaeoclimatic implications. Geoff’s palaeobotanical publications span fifty years from 1956 to 2006 including early work on conifer cones.
From: International Organisation of Palaeobotany, Newsletter 118 February 2019, see link below
The surviving copy of the draft manuscript no longer contains any illustrations. The text of the manuscript has been added to this website (August 2020) and the intention is to continue to add illustrations where possible.
Obituary and memories
International Organisation of Palaeobotany, Newsletter 118 February 2019 | Obituary and memories: Geoffrey Creber. - Geoffrey had a long term collaboration with Prof. William ‘Bill’ Chaloner, FRS (1928-2016)
- Radio 4 ‘Last Word’ Obituary 16/12/2016 for Bill Chaloner | at approx. 20 mins into the episode.
- Biography and obituary for Bill Chaloner in Palynology journal, February 2019 (date published online).
Research works
- Geoffrey T. Creber’s Research Catalogue on ResearchGate – 13 research works with 800 citations (as of August 2020).
- Geoffrey’s PhD Thesis (1984) Growth rings in secondary xylem, their formation and interpretation through geological time (Royal Holloway Digital Repository)
- The South Polar Forest Ecosystem ~ Geoffrey T. Creber
- Do fossil plants give a climatic signal? ~ William G. Chaloner and Geoffrey T. Creber; Journal of the Geological Society, 147, 343-350, 1 March 1990.
Publications and articles
Elsevier’s Dictionary of Plant Names
- Authors: G. Creber, Murray Wrobel
- ISBN-10 : 0444821821
- ISBN-13 : 978-0444821829
- Product Dimensions : 17.4 x 6.58 x 24.49 cm
- Publisher : Elsevier Science (5 Aug. 1997)
This comprehensive overview of plant names includes over 12,500 terms covering 298 families, 2,787 genera and 9,427 species, listed in the alphabetical order of their botanical names.
Elsevier’s Dictionary of Fungi and Fungal Plant Diseases
- Editors: G. Creber, Murray Wrobel
- Publisher: Elsevier Science; 1 edition (June 2, 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0444827749
- ISBN-13: 978-0444827746
This dictionary contains the Latin names of families, genera, species and many of their synonyms, of edible and poisonous mushrooms, other fungi and pathogens of fungal plant diseases, together with their identified English, German, French and Italian equivalents.
Obituary for Mavis Hinds
In Royal Meterological Society Magazine ‘Weather’, October 2009. Mavis was a college friend of Geoffrey’s wife, Hilda, and their paths crossed again many years later when Geoffrey moved to Bracknell, Berkshire, where the UK Met Office was located at that time. Wikipedia page for Mavis Hinds.