Dixon, Kingsley Wayne   (1954 - )

Born in Western Australia in 1954.

He grew up in the Perth suburb of Morley, Western Australia. He spent his time exploring the bushland that existed in the suburb during his childhood, which encouraged his interest in botany.

He has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Western Australia (UWA).

Dixon was the founding Director of Science at Kings Park and Botanic Gardens from 1982 to 2014. Before working as a professor at Curtin University, he was a professor at UWA.

One of Dixon's most notable achievements is the 1992 discovery of smoke as a cause for the germination of Australian plants after bushfires. The study, which was published in 1995, applied knowledge which had previously been researched in South Africa to the native plants of his home state.

He later helped to show that plant species in other parts of the world also have germination caused by smoke, showing that this is not exclusive to plants in fire-prone regions. After this, he started a study with scientists from UWA and Murdoch University to discover the specific chemicals in smoke that cause this effect, testing over 4,000 chemicals and eventually discovering a new molecule, named karrikinolide, after "karrik", the Noongar word for "smoke". The discovery was published in Science in 2004.

He is a biologist and Professor at Curtin University, Associate of the Missouri Botanical Garden and a Visiting Professor at Kings Park and Botanic Garden. Professor Dixon is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor and Director of the ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration.

He has published 14 books, 385 publications and has supervised almost 60 PhD students.

He holds positions on international and national boards and commissions including co-chair of the Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN, Chair of the Research Committee of the Australian Orchid Foundation, Chair of the International Network for Seed-based Restoration, Chair of the Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia and Board member of the peak body for restoration, the international Society for Ecological Restoration.

The orchid Caleana dixonii was first identified as a distinct species by him and named after him by Steve Hopper and Andrew Brown in 2006.

Source: Extracted from:
https://australianorchidfoundation.org.au/kingsley-dixon-aoh/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsley_Dixon
http://www.onthejob.education/life_job/famous_people/Kingsley_Dixon.htm
Portrait Photo: https://australianorchidfoundation.org.au/kingsley-dixon-aoh/

Collecting localities for 'Dixon, K.W.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 299 specimens