Delbert Richard “Del” Weniger

Topics

Description

Born in Kansas, and earning degrees from Bethel College and Kansas State University, Del Weniger went on to teach in and chair the Biology Department at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. He served the University from 1960 through 1988 and pursued an active career in botanical education and research. He wrote Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana (1970) and Cacti of Texas and Adjacent States: A Field Guide (1984), and his contributions are celebrated by the naming of a Texas cactus, Echinocereus wenigeri.

Weniger is also remembered for his work in the environmental history field, for his publication of The Explorers’ Texas: The Lands and Waters (1984), and its sequel, The Explorers’ Texas: The Animals They Found (1997) (Weniger planned volumes 3 and 4, covering birds and plants, respectively, but passed away before their completion). Beyond his botanical and historic efforts, Weniger was also active in conservation, serving on boards of the Texas Nature Conservancy and the Alamo Group of the Sierra Club, and helping found the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Location Notes

As a founding member of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, and a designer of the Texas Native Trail there, a marker for Weniger might fit in well at the SABG.

Bibliography

Weniger, Del. Cacti of the Southwest: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1970).
Weniger, Del. Cacti of Texas and Neighboring States: A Field Guide (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984).
Weniger, Del. Explorers’ Texas: The Land and Waters (Austin: Eakin Press, 1984).
Weniger, Del. Explorers’ Texas: The Animals They Found (Austin: Eakin Press, 1997).