I am interested in using modern and fossil plants to understand evolution of plants and the environment. My main group of interest is the monocots, a group of flowering plants comprising important taxa such as grasses, sedges, palms, orchids, lilies, gingers, and seagrasses. I use multiple techniques in my studies including phylogenetic analysis, palynology, phytoliths, anatomy, morphology, and more recently, 3D techniques such as synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy to investigate modern and fossil specimens to place them in a broader systematic and environmental context.

Selected Recent Publications

Selena Y. Smith, Margaret E. Collinson, Paula J. Rudall, David A. Simpson, Federica Marone, and Marco Stampanoni. 2009. Virtual taphonomy using synchrotron tomographic microscopy reveals cryptic features and internal structure of modern and fossil plants. PNAS published online before print July 2, 2009, doi:10.1073/pnas.0901468106

Smith, Selena Y., Margaret E. Collinson, and Paula J. Rudall. 2008. Fossil Cyclanthus (Cyclanthanceae, Pandanales) from the Eocene of Germany and England. American Journal of Botany 95: 688-699.

Smith, Selena Y. and Ruth A. Stockey. 2007. Pollen morphology and ultrastructure of Saururaceae. Grana 46: 250-267.

Smith, Selena Y. and Ruth A. Stockey. 2007. Establishing a fossil record for the perianthless Piperales: Saururus tuckerae sp. nov. (Saururaceae) from the Middle Eocene Princeton Chert. American Journal of Botany 94: 1642-1657.