Barrett, Russell Lindsay   (1977 - )

Russell is a research botanist, author and photographer having grown up in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The Barrett family moved to the Kimberley in 1981. The father farmed; the mother supervised the kids' School of the Air lessons. Their two children, Mathew and Russell both became botanists.

Russell developed an early passion for botany after discovering new plant species beside the creek that ran past their homestead on a remote Kimberley cattle station while still in high school.

Education

1996-2002 - B.Sc.The University of Western Australia: Perth, WA.

2007-2012 - Ph.D. (School of Plant Biology) The University of Western Australia: Perth, WA.

Career

He was a Research Botanist with the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (Kings Park) in Perth, WA. He later worked in Canberra, ACT, and then as a Senior Research Scientist and Systematic Botanist based at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, NSW.

Russell has discovered over 400 new plant species, sometimes spotting new species from helicopters in remote wilderness, and sometimes finding overlooked species in the middle of our capital cities.

Possessing a diverse range of skills, his areas of expertise include systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, nomenclature, conservation, and ecology. His typical workday involves writing scholarly papers, studying plant specimens, and collaborating with fellow researchers to advance botanical knowledge.

Source: Extracted from:
Australian Geographic, Issue 102 (Apr-Jun, 2011)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0360-8321
https://www.botanicgardens.org.au/about-us/our-people/meet-our-experts/russell-barrett
https://peerj.com/RBarrett/
https://www.theplantpress.com/about
Portrait Photo: 2009, M.Fagg, ANBG Photo Collection.

Collecting localities for 'Barrett, R.L.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 7,584 specimens