David J. Middleton
Botanist and editor whose work includes Hoya wallichii research and the coauthored Apocynaceae account in Flora of Singapore.
Why this person appears in Hoya Library
Botanist and editor whose work includes Hoya wallichii research and the coauthored Apocynaceae account in Flora of Singapore.
Botanical research and editing
David J. Middleton is a botanist and editor whose published work includes research on Apocynaceae, the plant family that contains Hoya. The International Plant Names Index records his full name as David John Middleton and his botanical author abbreviation as D.J.Middleton.[1]
Middleton is editor-in-chief of Flora of Singapore, a reference work that describes Singapore’s plants and provides keys for identifying them.[2]
Clarifying Hoya wallichii
Middleton coauthored the 2016 study of Hoya wallichii with Michele Rodda and Nadhanielle Simonsson Juhonewe. They examined herbarium and living material to distinguish H. wallichii from H. campanulata, and investigated the species’ history and conservation status.[3]
The paper also explains that Christine M. Burton published the combination Hoya wallichii in 1996 but applied it to material later described as H. danumensis. This distinction helps readers separate authorship of a name from identification of a particular plant.[3]
Apocynaceae in Flora of Singapore
Middleton and Rodda coauthored the 2019 Apocynaceae account in volume 13 of Flora of Singapore. The account includes a Hoya key and species treatments on pages 573–599, with descriptions, specimen citations, distribution and ecological notes.[4]
The publication states the authors’ division of work: Middleton covered the rauvolfioid and apocynoid groups, while Rodda covered Periplocoideae, Secamonoideae and Asclepiadoideae, the last of which includes Hoya. The shared family-account byline and the contributions to its individual groups are both part of the attribution.[4]
Sources and further reading
- International Plant Names Index. Middleton, David John, author record 35229-1. Checked 25 October 2026.
- Singapore Botanic Gardens. Flora of Singapore, project description and editorial board. Checked 25 October 2026.
- Rodda, M., Simonsson Juhonewe, N. & Middleton, D.J. (2016). The taxonomic status of the presumed extinct Singaporean Hoya wallichii (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae). Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore 68(2): 175–187; history and comparison on pp. 176–177.
- Middleton, D.J. & Rodda, M. (2019). Apocynaceae. Flora of Singapore 13: 421–630. DOI: 10.26492/fos13.2019-05. Author contributions on p. 421; Hoya account on pp. 573–599.