THE BOTANICAL AND 
LICHEN0L0G1CAL WORK OF ROY 
LATHAM , LEGENDARY LONG ISLAND 
NATURALIST 
Introduction . 
It was mid-November 1979, and Frederick C. 
Schlauch had just relayed news that saddened me: Roy 
Latham, a living legend, had passed away at Orient, 
Long Island, at the age of 98. 
I slowly made my way back to the Rare Plant 
Workshop I was attending at the New York Slate 
Museum in Albany, convened by State Botanist Richard 
Mitchell to examine the status of our endangered and 
threatened plants. After I had regretfully shared the 
news, we held a moment of silence in Roy's honor; for 
he had been the state's most versatile field naturalist, a 
walking encyclopedia of natural history— and a highly 
respected botanist. 
Because his knowledge was so comprehensive. I 
cannot write about Latham’s botanical work without 
making frequent references to related areas of natural 
history. The following notes on his life, compiled from 
several sources (Schlauch 1971, Zawyrucha 1977, Anon. 
1979. Pechuman 1979; F. C. Schlauch, verbal comm.: 
C. J. Sheviak, verbal comm.), will indicate the context 
in which his botanical work was done. 
Roy Latham was bom at Orient on 23 May 1881, a 
descendant of Jonathan Fish Latham who settled there 
before 1800. Roy's parents were Fred and Fanny 
Latham. Christened Angelo Roy Latham, the "little 
angel" soon dropped the Angelo, perhaps retaining it as 
a rarely used middle name [his Southold and Gardiner's 
Island flora (Burnham & Latham 1914-1925) was signed 
"Roy A. Latham"; see also Chaudhri et ai 1972], He-, 
attended the one-room school in Orient for two or three 
months each winter over several years, but was largely 
self-educated avidly pursuing studies that interested him 
for the rest of his life. Roy and his father and brothers 
were active commercial fishermen early in this century, 
their business peaking between 1915 and 1920; but his 
main money-making occupation was growing potatoes at 
his farm ("The Osprey's Nest" on Private Road in 
Orient), which he pursued until his retirement in 1963 at 
age 82. After that he leased his land to other Orient 
farmers, while continuing his intense, lifelong labor of 
love: studying the natural history of eastern Long Island. 
Roy's fascination with, the natural world began at 
age three, and continued throughout his life. ..It spanned .. 
the gamut of natural history disciplines, including ; . , vi 
ornithology, mammology, herpetology, ichthyology,, . 
botany, lichenology, mycology, bryology, phycology. 
entomology, and archaeology. A highly organized 
v person who kept labelled specimens of everything he 
found, he amassed huge collections of inestimable 
scientific value in all areas of interest. The value of 
Roy's collections is enhanced by their temporal span 
and regional focus. The scope of his knowledge and 
. experience was evident in whatever he wrote. It was 
difficult for him to communicate about any organism 
‘ . '.without mentioning others that were ecologically or 
locally associated, often in great detail. Roy's innate 
, brilliance and self-direction, in combination with his 
extraordinary memory and long life, fostered his 
eminence among amateur North American naturalists. 
Although a private person, he confidently approached 
the greatest authorities on subjects that interested him, 
'gaining their respect and cooperation by the intelligence 
of his questions and through the specimens and 
first-hand knowledge he offered. He was repeatedly 
credited as a major source in references dealing with the 
natural history of Long Island (Bull 1975: 15, Brodo 
1968, and Connor 1978, to mention a few). 
It was always exciting to receive a letter from Roy 
Latham. These were written with an ancient typewriter 
(an Oliver No. 7, purchased in 1912 — Latham letter to 
me. 4 October 1977) on stationery featuring an Osprey's 
nest atop an abandoned windmill on his farm. He 
provided exceptionally clear and detailed summaries of 
his natural history experiences in response to specific 
queries, interpreted in an environmental and historical 
context that covered nearly a whole century. When 
other naturalists wrote with a 'question, Roy would 
modestly declare he was too old, or his eyesight was too 
poor, to look up his records or write much of an answer, 
and then would deliver a wealth of information that 
astounded. His comments were often tinged with 
wistfulness, as if recollections of the former abundance 
of plants and animals were painful. This is 
understandable — he had watched the flora and especially 
the fauna disappear in his lifetime, in response to 
increasing human pressures. 
As an example, in 1974 I wrote to ask Roy about 
the Royal Walnut Moth (Citheronia regalis) on eastern 
Long Island. This very large moth has ahnost 
completely disappeared from the Northeast in recent 
decades, and I wanted to have his perspective. Roy’s 
reply (letters, 20 & 27 August 1974) gave a goldmine cf 
information: adult flight dates, specific larval foodplant 
records from encounters with wild caterpillars, specimen 
records, nocturnal and diurnal observations of adults, 
notes on human, interactions (including the 
disappearance of this moth after aerial insecticide 
spraying), and predation, notes [a Northern Black Racer 
- {Coluber contractor, constrictor ;) eating one of the very 
large caterpillars]. Few people could muster such 
information so easily or present it so beautifully and 
generously. 
Long Island March - JpHff993 Pageld 
Botanical Society 
