Ann Fowler Rhoads

Ann Fowler Rhoads (born 1938) is an American botanist who worked as a plant pathologist at Morris Arboretum for 36 years, retiring in 2013. She is the co-founder (with Timothy A. Block) of the Pennsylvania Flora Project of Morris Arboretum. In addition, Rhoads is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a former Research Associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Rhoads has written and edited 6 books. Her most important work is The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual, which she coauthored with Timothy Block. It has been called the "Bible of our state's plant life". It is particularly significant “because most states simply don’t have such a comprehensive work on regional flora. Relevant to plant life found in much of the Northeast, the book has also been requested in neighboring states." A second edition was published in 2007.

In 2014, the Chestnut Hill Local said of Ann Rhoads: “Through tireless documentation, a specimen collection of 14,000 plants, and sharing her discoveries and expertise in books and articles, she has significantly advanced our understanding of Pennsylvania plant communities.” Ari Novy, former Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden, called her “a giant in the world of plants who has championed plant education in the Mid-Atlantic." She has also been referred to as a “legend among the region's ecological scientists.”

In 2016, Rhoads became the inaugural recipient of the Hamilton Award from Rutgers Gardens. This award is named for former director Bruce Hamilton, and recognizes “an unsung hero, a quiet leader, or patient mentor in the field of horticulture".