1906-2000

American plant geneticist who created an artificial grass species through induced polyploidy, the presence of two or more sets of chromosomes in an organism. Stebbins studied angiosperm evolution under the context of natural selection, reproductive isolation, and the modern synthetic theory of evolution. This theory focuses on the basic properties of gene action, mutation, and recombination, as well as changes in chromosome structure and number, all occurring over geological time periods. Stebbins proposed that morphological changes in specific plant structures result from mutations in genes that control mitosis.