Event

Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life

Join Andrew Hipp, director of the herbarium and senior scientist in plant systematics at The Morton Arboretum, for an exploration of how oaks become such important and beloved trees across the northern hemisphere.
Lectures
Gardens

In 2004, Congress designated the genus Quercus as our national tree following a four-month-long open-voting process sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation. At The Huntington, these iconic trees are a core botanical collection and the focus of important research and conservation efforts. Join Andrew Hipp, director of the herbarium and senior scientist in plant systematics at The Morton Arboretum, for an exploration of how oaks become such important and beloved trees across the northern hemisphere.

This presentation touches on the natural history and biology of reproduction in oaks; the origins of oak species and their hybrids; and the estimated 56 million years of oak evolutionary history. A book signing will follow the lecture.

A tan book cover with a green close-up illustration of an oak tree and white text that reads "Andew L. Hipp / Oak Origins/ From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life."

Andrew L. Hipp, Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life, 2024. | The University of Chicago Press.

About the Speaker

In addition to his post at the Morton Arboretum, Andrew Hipp is a lecturer at the University of Chicago. His research group investigates the evolution of plants and how they shape our world with a strong focus on oaks. He received a 2014 Fulbright Fellowship in France for his work on the evolution of oak diversity, a 2018 Distinguished Informal Science Education Award from the National Science Teachers Association, and a 2023 Fulbright Specialist Award in Germany for his work on oak evolutionary history. Hipp is the author of Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life (U. of Chicago Press, 2024), Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedges (University of Wisconsin Press, 2008), and sixteen children’s books on a variety of natural history topics (Powerkids Press, 2002-2004), as well as more than 130 academic articles and book chapters. Hipp’s creative work has appeared in Arnoldia, the quarterly publication of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Scientific American, International Oaks: The Journal of the International Oak Society, Places Journal, and his natural history blog, A Botanist’s Field Notes.