J. F. Maxwell (Max)

James F. Maxwell (“Max”) was one of Indochina’s most pre-eminent botanists. Over four-decades, he curated five herbaria in Thailand and Singapore. The herbarium he established at CMU's Department of Biology (CMUB), grew to be the third largest herbarium in Thailand. From FORRU-CMU’s inception in 1994 to his passing in 2015, Max was FORRU-CMU’s in-house botanist, identifying seed trees and assisting with pre-restoration surveys and post-restoration monitoring, not only of trees, but also the ground flora. He collected and preserved voucher specimens of adult trees, as well as some of the first specimens of tree seedlings to appear in any of Thailand’s herbaria. His expertise was vital to the unit’s formation and its restoration work.

Key Publications

1. Maxwell, J. F. & S. Elliott, 2001. Vegetation and Vascular Flora of Doi Sutep–Pui National Park, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Thai Studies in Biodiversity 5. Biodiversity Research & Training Programme, Bangkok. 205 pp.
2. Forest Restoration Research Unit, 2000. Tree Seeds and Seedlings for Restoring Forests in Northern Thailand. Biology Department, Science Faculty, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Edited by Kerby, J., S. Elliott, J. F. Maxwell, D. Blakesley and V. Anusarnsunthorn. The Forest Restoration Research Unit, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. 151 pp.
3. Maxwell, J. F. 2009. Vascular flora of the Emerald Pool area, Krabi province, southern Thailand. Maejo Int. J. Sci. Technol. 2009, 3(01): 1-25. ISSN 1905-7873.