If you have paid attention to flowering plant taxonomy over the last few decades you have undoubtedly come across the work of Dr.'s Pam and Doug Soltis. Evolutionary geneticists by training, these two have devoted their lives to figuring out the relationships between the world's flowering plants. This is no small task and the collaborative effort put forth is both astounding and inspiring.Their early efforts to tackle such relationships led to the birth of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG), which is now in its 4th iteration. Throughout their career, the Soltis Lab has been on the forefront of technological advances in genetics and conservation. Their work goes beyond theory and tackles difficult questions of not only what it means to be a species but also how to conserve plants in an age of accelerated climate change. This is one conversation you don't want to miss!
Click here to learn more about the Soltis Lab
Click here to watch Doug's TED Talk