Born in
Christoval, Texas in July 1911, Warnock grew up at
Fort Stockton, Texas and by 1937 graduated from
Sul Ross State University (then Sul Ross State College) in
Alpine, Texas. He received a master's degree from the
University of Iowa and a Ph.D. from the
University of Texas in
Austin. In 1946 Warnock joined the faculty of Sul Ross State College and a year later was named biology department chair. He worked there for more than 50 years until retirement, during which he continued collecting various plant species in the region. He wrote three books from 1970 to 1977 and was working on a fourth volume. Warnock died from a heart attack at the age of 86 on June 9, 1998 while driving a car near Alpine. After his death the Sul Ross science building was named after him. The
Barton Warnock Environmental Education Visitor Center, a state park near
Lajitas in
Presidio County, Texas, also bears his name and houses his extensive collection of plant specimens. An endemic genus of plants
Lamiaceae (
Warnockia) is named in his honor as well. ==Publications==