| Peter Hyypio was an American botanist and long-time curator at the Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University (1965-1985). He was also the primary Cornell Cooperative Extension specialist at BH, over the years identifying thousands of plants for New York state gardeners, nursery growers and sellers, farmers and horticulturists. Hyypio had an active research program in taxonomy, and particular expertise in the family Cyperaceae and more generally the flora of Michigan. In 1951 he published The Cyperaceae of Michigan, exclusive of Carex. His publishing record shows wide collaboration over the years with ecologists, entomologists, geneticists, and horticulturalists among others. In 1982 Hyypio published an important Cooperative Extension bulletin about the toxic invasive "Giant Hogweed" (Heracleum mantegazzianum) that brought needed attention to this pernicious weed, which causes severe dermatitis in many people. After serving in Europe and North Africa during WWII as a young man, Hyypio earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in botany from Michigan State University. |
