Theodore M. “Ted” Barkley
1934–2004

The Flora of North America Board and the Compositae Editorial Team are honored to dedicate the three volumes of the Asteraceae to the late Dr. Theodore “Ted” M. Barkley.  An influential member of the FNA editorial board since its founding, Dr. Barkley passed away in the summer of 2004 while still actively involved in preparing the current volumes for publication.  A dedicated and renowned seneciologist, he worked on his groundsel treatments to the last minute.  After nearly four decades at Kansas State University, where he trained many taxonomists and co-edited, among others, the Flora of the Great Plains, Ted retired in 1998 to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas to serve as lead editor of the three Asteraceae volumes.  In the years that followed, thanks to his leadership and managerial abilities as well as to his sense of humor, he obtained the financial resources and developed a robust program to ensure publication of the largest family in the North American flora.  Ted will be remembered by all of us for his delight at playing with language, bad puns intended, and for his culture, wisdom, pragmatism, loyalty to friends, and dedication to the FNA project and to the Compositae volumes in particular.  But mostly, he will be remembered as a scholar and a gentleman.