When Martin Hamilton first laid eyes upon the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG), he was impressed by the diverse plant collection spread across nearly 300 acres throughout its mix of formal and natural areas.
Dr. Hamilton was recently appointed as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) at Clemson University, an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and a Fellow of The Linnean Society of London. He is particularly interested in the conservation and management of threatened species (in-situ and ex-situ), habitat restoration, and the development and management of ex-situ plant collections and is responsible for the operation of the 300-acre SCBG property.
His personal research is currently focused on threatened, endemic shrubs in the genus Varronia (Boraginaceae). He is also actively involved in projects researching the conservation and management of threatened species, including the development of ex-situ plant collections and horticultural protocols and biogeographic, population genetic, and phylogenomic studies.
