Roy Axel Larson, an internationally
known poinsettia breeder who served 35 years on the faculty of North
Carolina State University, died Jan. 8 at the age of 71.
Larson retired in August
1996 from his position as horticultural science professor. He specialized
in poinsettias, azaleas and other greenhouse crops. During his career,
he spent 46 years conducting research on poinsettias and collected more
than 750 floral and other unusual neckties.
“Larson’s impact
on research was known around the world,” said Dr. John Dole, associate
professor of horticultural
science at N.C. State. “He changed the way poinsettias grow
and what they look like.”
Joe Stoffregen, who was
a student of Larson’s and is now vice president of Raleigh’s
Homewood Nursery, said of his former teacher, “He put the state
of North Carolina on the map for growing poinsettias.”
Larson was past president
of Wake Men’s Garden Club, president of the American
Society of Horticultural Science and member of the Society
of American Florists, the North
Carolina Commercial Flower Growers and the Ohio
Florists Association. He received N.C. State University’s Outstanding
Teacher Award.
Memorial contributions may
be directed to Roy A. Larson Scholarship Endowment, c/o N.C.
Agriculture Foundation, N.C. State University, Campus Box 7645,
Raleigh, NC 27695-7645.
