William Ashbrook Kellerman [SEP] occupation
William Ashbrook Kellerman
William Ashbrook Kellerman (May 1, 1850 Ashville, Ohio – March 8, 1908) was an American botanist, mycologist and photographer.
Biography.
Kellerman was born in May of 1850 in Ohio, the son of Daniel Kemberling Kellerman and Iva/Ivy Ashbrook Kellerman. His father a merchant and Farmer originally from Pennsylvania did well for himself and put his son in fine schools. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 1874. After graduation, Kellerman was hired as Professor of
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Taxonomy and history.
In 1889 American mycologist William Ashbrook Kellerman and his student Walter T. Swingle discovered a species of smut that was able to change the sex of its host; the host plant, in this case buffalograss ("Buchloë dactyloides"), produced ovaries in flowers of plants that were otherwise male. They named the fungus "Tilletia buchloëana", a generic placement they considered apt because of the characteristics of the fungal teliospores. Both Kellerman and Swingle, and later Norton in 1896, were unable to