author

Charles Herbert Otis

b. 1886

Best remembered for a long-running guide to Michigan’s trees, this American botanist helped generations of readers recognize native and introduced species in the field. His work has stayed useful for decades because it was practical, clear, and closely tied to the landscape of the Great Lakes region.

1 Audiobook

Michigan Trees: A Handbook of the Native and Most Important Introduced Species

Michigan Trees: A Handbook of the Native and Most Important Introduced Species

by Charles Herbert Otis

About the author

Born on January 25, 1886, in Raymond, Michigan, Charles Herbert Otis was an American botanist. The Smithsonian Institution Archives identifies him as a professor of botany at Western Reserve University, and library and bibliographic records consistently connect him with botanical writing and plant-name authorship.

He is most closely associated with Michigan Trees, a handbook on the native and important introduced tree species of the state. The book was published in multiple editions and later reprints, which suggests it remained a valued reference for students, naturalists, and general readers interested in Michigan’s woodlands.

Otis died on July 1, 1979. Reliable sources found during this search give only a modest outline of his life, but they agree on the essentials: he built his reputation through botany, teaching, and a durable regional field guide that kept his name in print well after its first publication.