Charles Clemon Deam

In presenting a biographic account of the life and the botanical work of Charles C. Deam I find it difficult to select words which will describe the man I learned to know through an association with him covering a period of about 25 years. It was only by knowing him that one could come to understand him and in that way the experience of his life could really be shared. To those who knew Deam personally, to those who knew about him and his botanical work, and to those who read these words, I suggest that the life of Deam was itself a botanical era. That era began on August 30, 1865 and ended on May 29, 1953. His work and his influence will continue for a long time. Rarely does such an unusual individual appear on the scene of life.