The Botanical Contributions of Robert Leslie James (1897–1977) in Northwestern Alabama and Northeastern Tennessee

Robert Leslie James was an exemplary citizen scientist who, although largely forgotten to history, discovered the monotypic genus named for him, Jamesianthus (Asteraceae), made modest but important herbarium collections including new state records for Alabama and Tennessee, and published diverse and detailed botanical papers. Most of James' work was centered around his home in Russellville, Alabama and his subsequent long-term residence at the Mountain Home Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee. Through copious correspondence, he befriended numerous botanists of the eastern United States and led several on collecting trips in the under-botanized regions of northwestern Alabama and northeastern Tennessee.