Dick Smith’s “LOOK AGAIN” page first appeared in the June 1981 issue of SHORTIA. Dick was not only a talented artist and writer but also an expert botanist. “LOOK AGAIN” was the one page that probably not only was read by EVERYONE but also undoubtedly was the FIRST page to be read. Usually, the differences between two or more species of plants (trees, fungi, lycopodiums, etc.) are described and illustrated in order to encourage the reader to look again.
We are deeply grateful to Dick Smith not only for the many hours he spent in creating this page four times each year but also for sharing his knowledge and talents.
The drawing which was on the cover of SHORTIA until 2019 was created by Dick Smith and first appeared with the Spring 1982 issue (From Shortia IX, Winter 1987).
Dick’s scrapbook containing personal letters, commendations, and information about his many activities may be be viewed in the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room on the second floor of the Transylvania County Library at 212 South Gaston Street, Brevard, North Carolina 28712.
Dick Smith – An Introduction by Jeanne Smith (From Shortia XXXVI, Winter 2014)
For those of you who have joined the Botany Club since 2000, I would like to introduce you to a fellow botanist, former president of the Botany Club, and author of “Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.” Dick and I lived and worked in New York City, he at Texaco and I at Mobil Oil. We met “at the office” so to speak. We shared an interest in nature and our weekend walks in the woods led to marriage and a move from NYC to North Carolina. There were more people in Grand Central Station every morning during our daily commute than year-round residents of Brevard in 1978 when we migrated south.
We loved all that “greenness” and headed for the woods. Dick had planned to retire to paint flowers and scenery, but the magnificent variety of wildflowers, his new NIKON camera retirement gift from Texaco, plus all the trails off the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the Smokies, and in Pisgah Forest, as well as the Botany Club walks led to an accumulation of over 10,000 slides. So, he submitted a proposal to the University of Tennessee and they agreed to publish a guide book. The hardest thing for Dick was to choose which 600 slides to include in the book.
The dedication reads: “In memory of my mother who would have loved this book and my father who could have done it better.” Creating this guidebook was his proudest achievement as an amateur botanist.
Dick thought several of the 64 original articles were out of date. However, he agreed that the articles below could be reprinted.
Abies & Picea was published in the Winter 1982 issue of Shortia
Acer & Fraxinus was published in the Winter 1989 issue of Shortia
Acer-1 was published in the Autumn 1985 issue of Shortia
Acer-2 was published in the Winter 1995 issue of Shortia
Allium was published in the Autumn 1992 issue of Shortia
Aplectrum & Tipularia was published in the Winter 1993 issue of Shortia
Arisaema was published in the Spring 1989 issue of Shortia
Aruncus & Astilbe was published in the Autumn 1988 issue of Shortia
Asarum & Hexastylis was published in the Spring 1991 issue of Shortia
Aureolaria was published in the Summer 1996 issue of Shortia
Bignonia was published in the Summer 1994 issue of Shortia
Carya & Juglans was published in the Winter 1986 issue of Shortia
Castanea was published in the Winter 1990 issue of Shortia
Celastrus was published in the Autumn 1989 issue of Shortia
Chelone was published in the Autumn 1984 issue of Shortia
Chimaphila was published in the Summer 1982 issue of Shortia
Cimicifuga was published in the Autumn 1999 issue of Shortia
Claytonia, Hepatica & Pachysandra was published in the Spring 1992 issue of Shortia
Clitoria & Centrosema was published in the Summer 1992 issue of Shortia
Convallaria & Maianthemum was published in the Spring 1988 issue of Shortia
Corylus was published in the Winter 1983 issue of Shortia
Diodia & Sherardia was published in the Summer 1997 issue of Shortia
Elephantopus was published in the Autumn 1996 issue of Shortia
Erigeron was published in the Autumn 1990 issue of Shortia
Euonymus was published in the Autumn 1982 issue of Shortia
Goodyera was published in the Autumn 1988 issue of Shortia
Lilium was published in the Autumn 1995 issue of Shortia
Lobelia was published in the Autumn 1993 issue of Shortia
Magnolia was published in the Winter 1991 issue of Shortia
Medeola & Isotria was published in the Summer 1995 issue of Shortia
Monarda was published in the Summer 1985 issue of Shortia
Panax was published in the Winter 1996 issue of Shortia
Phacelia was published in the Spring 1996 issue of Shortia
Rhexia was published in the Summer 1987 issue of Shortia
Rudbeckia was published in the Autumn 1987 issue of Shortia
Saxifraga (Micranthes) was published in the Summer 1988 issue of Shortia
Senecio (Packera) was published in the Spring 1994 issue of Shortia
Tsuga was published in the Winter 1988 issue of Shortia
Verbesina was published in the Autumn 1994 issue of Shortia
Zizia & Thaspium was published in the Summer 1993 issue of Shortia
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