Christopher D.K. Cook, explorer, taxonomist and teacher, who is also the
global authority on aquatic vascular plants, has been awarded the David Fairchild Medal
for Plant Exploration. The Fairchild Medal is the world’s most prestigious award for
plant discovery and conservation, an award which “honors distinguished service to humanity.”
The ceremony took place February 9, 2001, in Coconut Grove (Miami), Florida at The
Kampong, an exquisite home overlooking Biscayne Bay and the former home of David
Fairchild.
Presenting the medal (as well as a citation and a check) were Paul Alan Cox, director of the
National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), and Douglas McBryde Kinney, Chairman of the
NTBG Board of Trustees. The NTBG is comprised of five gardens and three preserves in
Florida and Hawaii and is dedicated to conservation, research and education relating to the
world’s tropical plants.
Professor Cook is the well-known and well-traveled author of numerous books and
scientific articles on aquatic plants of the world, including Waterplants of the World,
first published in 1974. He also developed Switzerland’s Institute for Systematic Botany and
the Botanic Gardens at the University of Zurich.