Smith, Basil Herbert   (?1925 - 2012),   Smith, Mary   ( - 2012)

The Smiths began sending material to the WA Herbarium around 1970.

"I first visited Basil and Mary in mid 1980. We arrived in late afternoon at their homestead, which was discreetly tucked away in a block of remnant bush bearing a strong contrast to the vast cleared wheatfields east of Wongan Hills. As soon as I mentioned my interest in eucalypts, Basil rushed me into a shed where he showed me a dried bunch of foliage and flowers. What species is this? he asked. I gaped with astonishment at the tubular staminal tubes and said probably an undescribed one.

"So we jumped into the ute and tore off at a hectic pace. Nearly an hour later we were 70 km away, groping about in the dark collecting specimens. Such was Basil's enthusiasm for his beloved native plants. I described the species as Eucalyptus synandra (Crisp, 1982). It was only the second known eucalypt with stamens fused into a tube.

"I visited Basil and Mary again multiple times and always enjoyed their hospitality and infectious enthusiasm for their beloved bush. Basil was a licenced pilot with his own light aircraft and flew all over the wheatbelt spotting remnant batches of vegetation. These he would visit on the ground, making valuable collections including new discoveries."

(Mike Crisp)

One example of their contribution to conservation biology is Verticordia hughanii, which had been reduced to a single known population which later seemed to have disappeared: "... attempts to relocate this population proved unsuccessful until it was found by Mary and Basil Smith in December 1983" (Patten et al., 2004).

Other botanists who were in contact with the Smiths include Jim Ross, Barry Conn and Alex George.

The following species are named after the Smiths, the types of the first three names being collected by the Smiths:
Bossiaea smithiorum J.H.Ross
Daviesia smithiorum Crisp
Templetonia smithiana J.H.Ross
Melaleuca smithiorum Craven ined. (taxonomic synonym of M. fabri Craven).

Type specimens collected by the Smiths.
Acacia imitans Maslin (B.H. Smith 613)
Acacia subflexuosa subsp. capillata R.S.Cowan & Maslin (B.H. Smith 101)
Bossiaea atrata J.H.Ross (B.H. Smith 1292)
Bossiaea smithiorum J.H.Ross (B.H. Smith 1652)
Daviesia smithiorum Crisp (B.H. Smith 848)
Eremophila grandiflora A.P.Br. & Buirchell (B.H. Smith 428)
Eutaxia lasiocalyx Chappill & C.F.Wilkins (B.H. Smith 543)
Grevillea haplantha subsp. recedens Olde & Marriott (B.H. Smith 658)
Hemigenia ciliata G.R.Guerin (B.H. Smith 449)
Psammomoya grandiflora Keighery (B.H. Smith 454)
Templetonia smithiana J.H.Ross (B.H. Smith 204)

Mary and Basil Smith are noted as contributors of 25 photographs to the popular book Wildflowers of Southern Western Australia (editions 1996, 1997 and 2009) by Margaret Corrick and Bruce Fuhrer.

SEE ALSO:
'Farewell Friends' by Jerry Coleby-Williams
https://jerry-coleby-williams.net/2012/09/22/farewell-friends/

Source: Extracted from: Mike Crisp (2019) 'In memoriam - Basil and Mary Smith of Manmanning, Western Australia, deceased September 2012'
Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 181 (December 2019) p.73-75
Portrait Photo: Extracted from above.

Collecting localities for Basil and Mary Smith from AVH (2022)