author
J. J. (John James) Thornber
1872–1962
A pioneering Arizona botanist, he spent decades studying desert plants, native grasses, and cacti while helping shape the University of Arizona’s early scientific work.
2 Audiobooks
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers
by Margaret Armstrong, J. J. (John James) Thornber
The Fantastic Clan: The Cactus Family
by J. J. (John James) Thornber, Frances Bonker
About the author
Born in 1872, John James Thornber became one of the best-known early botanists in Arizona. After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1901, he joined the University of Arizona, where he served as a professor and worked with the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. His career there stretched for more than four decades.
Thornber is especially remembered for some of the earliest research on Arizona’s native grasses and cacti. He wrote and co-wrote practical and scientific works on the plants of the Southwest, including studies connected to agriculture, forage plants, and wildflowers, and he remained active in scholarship even after partial retirement.
He died in 1962, leaving behind a strong legacy in Southwestern botany. His name is still closely linked with the University of Arizona and with the early study of desert plant life in the American Southwest.