SMITH, Clifton F.
Marla Daily, Santa Cruz Island Foundation
Mark Connally, Island Packers
Nita Vail, Vail & Vickers
Bill Everett, Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program
Cathy Kohler, Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program
Al Vail, Vail & Vickers
Mary Vail, Vail & Vickers
Clif Smith, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Russ Vail, Vail & Vickers
Tim Vail, Vail & Vickers
SMITH, Clifton F. (1920-1999), Santa Barbara County’s most renowned field botanist for over 50 years. He collected and catalogued over 10,000 plant specimens, including many from the California Channel Islands. In October of 1947, Smith joined the staff of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History as a Part Time Assistant. Inspired by the island botanical collecting done by Ralph Hoffmann, in December 1949 he paid his first visit to Santa Rosa Island, followed by Santa Cruz, Anacapa and San Miguel islands. Clif Smith is member #28 of the All Eight Club.
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden's herbarium is named in honor of Clifton F. Smith, long-time student of the regional flora and author of A Flora of the Santa Barbara Region, California, published by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and Capra Press.
Smith collected on:
- Santa Rosa Island (1949)
- 1951. Smith, Clifton F. Notes on Two California Weeds Leaflets of Western Botany 6(5):112, 1951
- [original in SCIF archives]
- 1952. Smith, Clif A Flora of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1952
- 1976. Smith, Clif A Flora of the Santa Barbara Region, California, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 1976
- 1977. Smith, Clif Random Notes on the Natural History of San Miguel Island Noticias 23(3):41-42, Fall 1977
- [original in SCIF archives] [San Miguel Island]
- 1998. Smith, Clif A Flora of the Santa Barbara Region, California. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1998
In the News~
1963 [Annual Report, SBMNH]: “The Curator [Phil Orr] and Mr. Clifton Smith, botanist, visited Santa Cruz Island on a combined archaeological-botanical survey in April, and in June visited Santa Rosa Island.”
