Lani Stemmermann

Childhood Lani Stemmermann was born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. She then attended Pitzer College in Claremont, California where she earned her B.A. degree in botany in 1974. Stemmermann furthered her studies in botany at UHM where she eventually earned her Ph.D. in Botanical Sciences in 1986. Death Stemmermann died at the age of 42 on March 14, 1995, from malignant lymphoma. The illness lasted for a couple years and impeded her research on the Common Garden along with other field work. A memorial gathering was held on March 25, 1995, at Kipuka Puaulu picnic area of the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, arranged by Dodo Mortuary. ==Work/Legacy==

Academic career While pursuing her M.S. degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1976, Stemmermann worked as a teaching assistant in the Botany Department. She found Army bulldozers plowing through the naio and mamame trees to make room for building a Multi-Purpose Range Complex (MPRC). The 'ohi'a lehua is also known as Metrosideros polymorpha. Stemmermann studied this plant species extensively for a decade since 1982 and published three associated research papers in an effort to conserve this species. She stated "native forests should all be considered threatened. They're threatened with land use conversion." Stemmermann attested the destruction of the 'ohi'a forest directly threatened endangered species including Hawaiian bats, amakihi, and apapane occupying the habitat. ==Publications==

• Lamoureux, C. & Stemmermann, L. (1976). Report of the Kī-pahulu bicentennial expedition, June 26-29, 1976. St. John Plant Science Laboratory, University of Hawaiʻi. • Stemmermann, L. (1976). Distribution and vegetation anatomy of Hawaiian sandalwood. In C. W. Smith (Eds.), Proceedings of the First Conference in Natural Sciences Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (pages 223–226). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Botany. • Stemmermann, L., & Proby, F. (1978). Inventory of wetland vegetation in the Caroline Islands. VTN Pacific for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pacific Ocean Division. • Stemmermann, L. & Smith, C. (1978). Haleakala National Park Crater District resources basic inventory: The vascular flora of Haleakala. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Botany. • Stemmermann, L. (1980). Observations on the genus Santalum (Santalaceae) in Hawaii. Pacific Science, 34(1), pages 41–54. • Stemmermann, L. (1980). Vegetative anatomy of the Hawaiian species of Santalum (Santalaceae). Pacific Science, 34(1), pages 55–75. • Stemmermann, L. (1981). A guide to Pacific wetland plants. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District. • Stemmermann, L. (1982). Supplement to Technical report 38, Haleakala National Park Crater District resources basic inventory--conifer and flowering plants. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Botany. • Stemmermann, L. (1982). Research on ecotypes of Metrosideros. In C. W. Smith (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth Conference in Natural Sciences Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (page 156). University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Botany. • Stemmermann, L. (1983). Ecological studies of Hawaiian Metrosideros in a Successional Context. Pacific Science, 37(4), pages 361–373. • Smith, C. W., Stemmermann, L., Higashino, P. K., & Funk, E. (1986). ''Vascular plants of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, Hawai'i''. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Botany. PCSU Technical Report, page 56. • Stemmermann, L. (1991). Botanical survey : Proposed wilderness park between Honomalino and Manuka, South Kona and Kaʻu, Island of Hawaiʻi. The Division. • Gerrish, G., Stemmermann, L., & Gardner, D. E. (1992). The distribution of Rubus species in the State of Hawaii. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Botany. PCSU Technical Report, page 85. • Tunison, J. T., Whiteaker, L. D., Cuddihy, L. W., La Rosa, A. M., Kageler, D. W., Gates, M. R., Zimmer, N. G., & Stemmermann, L. (1992). The distribution of selected localized alien plant species in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Botany. PCSU Technical Report, page 84. • Stemmermann, L., Hawaii C. C., & Ihsle, T. (1993). Replacement of Metrosideros polymorpha, "Ohi"a, in Hawaiian dry forest succession. Biotropica, 25(1), pages 36–45. ==Commemoration==

• Dr. Ruth Lani Stemmermann Award of the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi is a monetary award for young scientists who focus on conducting research regarding Hawaiʻi's environment. • Dr. Lani Stemmermann Endowed Fellowship of the University of Hawaiʻi Professional Assembly (UHPA) is a merit-based scholarship for graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. in botany at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. • The Stemmermann Common Garden is a collaborative research project between University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Stanford University, and was originally intended as Stemmermann's dissertation research. Following her death in 1995, the Common Garden was renamed after her in order to recognize her contribution to the research. ==References==