Professor John A.N. Parnell
Department of Botany,
School of Natural Sciences,
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin2, Ireland
Email: John.Parnell@tcd.ie
Tel: +353 1 8961269
Research
My research is in higher plant systematics, especially plant taxonomy, biogeography and floristics. My research group is the only one in the State working on these topics and one of very few working on tropical plant systematics worldwide. Most of our tropical work is associated with the Flora of Thailand project. Thailand has proven to be singularly rich in plant life with many species new to science waiting to be found. We have studied a number of plant families in detail including the Apocynaceae, Araliaceae, Buxaceae, Clusiaceae, Hypericaceae, Lamiaceae, Lentibulariaceae, Myrtaceae, Orobanhcaceae, Polygalaceae and Vitaceae. Recently, we have begun work outside of Thailand in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and Nepal. I combine my systematics research with being curator of the internationally important TCD herbarium and associated library; an unique, valuable and important component of the State’s heritage.
Current Research and Research Opportunities
Over the past 10 years I have supervised an average of 5 postgraduate students every year and am always willing to look at new students, especially those from overseas.
Teaching
I teach biodiversity to first year (Junior Fresman Biology) students (BY1102) and a variety of courses on conservation (BO4103), biodiversity (BO3111) and plant identification (BO3108) to Junior and Senior Sophistor students (3rd and 4th year). Additionally, I coordinate and teach a module on systematics in the MSc in Biodiversity and conservation. Finally, I participate in and lead some of the Departmental Field courses including that to Wicklow (BO3108) and that to Gran Canaria (BO3121).
Selected Publications
Parnell, J.A.N. (2005). An account of the Lentibulariaceae of Thailand. Thai Forest Bulletin, 33: 101-144.
Hodkinson, T.R. & Parnell, J.A.N. (2007). Reconstructing the Tree of Life: Taxonomy and Systematics of Species Rich Taxa. Systematics Association Special Volume Series 72, Taylor and Francis, CRC Press. Boca Raton. 351 pages.
Sarawood, S., Teerawatananon, A., Parnell, J.A.N., Stapleton, C.M.A. & Hodkinson, T. (2008). Phuphanochloa, a new bamboo genus (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from Thailand. Kew Bulletin, 63: 669-673.
Pendry, C.A., Parnell, J.A.N. & van Welzen, P.C.
(2009). Biogeographic links between Thailand and Nepal and the potential for collaboration between their Flora projects. Thai Forest Bulletin, Special Issue: 169-185.
Parnell, J.A.N., Womersley, H.B.S., Sinkora, D., Vaughan, A. & Huisman, J.M. (2010). W.H. Harvey’s Australian Travelling Sets of Algae in the Herbarium of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL). Biology and Environment (Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy), 110B: 119-161.
Hodkinson, T., Jones, M.B., Waldren, S. & Parnell, J.A.N. (2011). Climate Change, Ecology and Systematics. Systematics Association Special Volume Series 78. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 524 pages. (Editor).
Parnell, J. (2011). Lentibulariaceae. Pp. 16-45 in Flora of Thailand, 11(1). Eds. Santisuk, T., Larsen, K., Newman, M., Chayamarit, K., Balslev, H., Phengkhlai, C., Pedersen, H., Parnell, J., Middleton, D., Newman, M., Simpson, D.A., van Welzen, P.C., Esser, H.-J., Hul, S. & Kato M. The Forest Herbarium, National Park, Wildlife and Conservation Department.
Kuang Soh, W. & Parnell, J. (2011). Comparative leaf anatomy and phylogeny of Syzygium Gaertn. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 297: 1-32.
Van Welzen, P.F., Madern, A., Raes, N., Parnell, J.A.N., Simpson, D.A., Byrne, C., Curtis, T., Macklin, J., Trias-Blasi, A., Prajaksood, A., Bygrave, P., Dransfield, S., Kirkup, D.W., Moat, J., Wilkin, P., Couch, C., Boyce. P.C., Chayamarit, K., Chantaranothai, P., Esser, H-J., Jebb, M.H.P., Larsen, K., Larsen, S.S., Nielsen, I., Meade, C., Middleton, D.J., Pendry, C.A., Musaya, A.M., Pattharahirantricin, N., Pooma, R., Suddee, S., Staples, G., Sungkaew, S. & Teerawatananon, A. (2011). The current and future status of Floristic Provinces in Thailand. Pp.219-247 in Land use, climate change and Biodiversity Modeling. Perspectives and applications. Eds. Y. Trisurat, R.P. Shrestha, & R. Alkemade. Information Science Reference, Hershey. 489pp.
Van Welzen, P.F., Parnell, J.A.N. & Slik, J.W.F. (2011). Wallace's Line and plant distributions: two or three phytogeographical areas and where to group Java?, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 103: 531 – 545.
Parnell, J. & Curtis, T. (2012). Webb’s An Irish Flora. Cork University Press, Cork. 504 + LVI pp.
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