Walter Kingsley Taylor Papers

Dr. Walter Kingsley Taylor, a native of Kentucky, has lived in the Central Florida for over 43 years. After 35 years of continuous service, Dr. Taylor retired from the University of Central Florida, where he taught a variety of biology courses including, general zoology, invertebrate zoology, ornithology, biodiversity, Florida natural history, local flora, and Florida wildflowers. Upon retirement in 2004, Dr. Taylor was named Professor Emeritus of UCF.

In 1999, Taylor received the University Award Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the highest recognition given by UCF for undergraduate instruction. Many of Taylor's students are actively employed with federal, state, and county environmental agencies and in numerous teaching institutions throughout the U.S. There are several students who have had successful careers and are now retired. Since 2008, Taylor serves as a board member of the Florida Wildflower Foundation.

In 2000, he received the Green Palmetto Award in education from the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) and in May 2006 the society presented him the Mentor Award, the highest recognition given by FNPS to an individual member. In February 2000, the Naples Native Plant Society and Naples Botanical Gardens recognized Taylor with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Elucidating the Flora of Florida.

Taylor is sought after to give presentations, lead field trips on wildflower identification, and conduct workshops, three held on Florida grasses at UCF's main campus. Dr. Taylor is well known throughout the state and many know him as "Mr. Florida Wildflowers" and "Sweetpea."

He has written two widely used books on Florida wildflowers: The Field Guide to Florida Wildflowers (Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, 1992) and Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities (University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1998).

In the spring of 2002, his book coauthored with Dr. Eliane M. Norman, Andre Michaux in Florida: An Eighteenth-Century Botanical Journey was published (University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2002). Numerous first person presentations in period costume depicting the famous French botanist, Andre-Michaux exploring in Spanish Florida have been performed. One such presentation was given at UCF's main campus library's lecture-workshop entitled "Garden in the Wilderness." Another presentation was at the First International Andre Michaux Symposium, held in May 2002, at Belmont College, Gaston, North Carolina. Currently, he and two colleagues, Charlie Williams and Dr. Eliane Norman are retracing the entire 11-year (1785-1796) stay of Michaux in America.

In 2009, Taylor's A Guide to Florida Grasses was published by the University Press of Florida. Dr. Taylor's most recent book Florida Wildflowers: A Comprehensive Guide was released in April 2013 by the University Press of Florida.

Dr. Taylor and Karin, wife and companion of 44 years, have traveled widely throughout Florida, having visited all counties and nearly all Florida State Parks seeking Florida's rich and diverse flora and fauna, as well as Florida's past history. They live in Winter Park and have one daughter, Dr. Anna Ree Taylor, a molecular neurobiologist and UXF graduate, who is employed at The National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.