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Biographical Notes on Southern African Botanical Epithets Based on Personal Names
Adonis (Ranunculaceae): named for Adonis, in Greek
mythology a beautiful young man who was beloved of Persephone and Aphrodite. Afzelia (Fabaceae): named in honor of the Swedish botanist and pupil of Linnaeus Adam Afzelius of Uppsala (1750-1837), who lived in Somalia. Afzelius was born at Larv in Westrogothia. He was appointed teacher of oriental languages at Uppsala University in 1777, and in 1785 demonstrator of botany. From 1792 he spent some years on the west coast of Africa, and in 1797-1798 acted as secretary of the Swedish embassy in London. Returning to Sweden, he again took up his position as botanical demonstrator at Uppsala, and was in 1802 elected president of the "Zoophytolithic Society" (later called the Linnaean Institute). In 1812, he became professor of materia medica at the university. He died in Uppsala. In addition to various botanical writings, he published the autobiography of Carolus Linnaeus in 1823. His brother, Johan Afzelius (1753-1837) was professor of chemistry at Uppsala; and another brother, Pehr von Afzelius (1760-1843; the "von" was added when he was ennobled), who became professor of medicine at Uppsala in 1801, was distinguished as a medical teacher and practitioner. (Wikipedia) Alberta (Rubiaceae): Alberta magna was named by Ernst Heinrich Meyer, who was a lecturer in medicine at the University of Gottingen and an associate professor of botany in Koningsberg. He named the genus Alberta and one species, magna in honour of Albertus Magnus, whose real name was Graf von Bollstädt, a famous German philosopher or theologian who lived between the 12th and 13th century and wrote De vegetabilus, a botanical work in seven volumes. (PlantzAfrica) Albertisia (Menispermaceae): commemorates Count Luigi Maria d'Albertis (1841-1901), an Italian zoologist-ethnographer. Albizia (Fabaceae): honors an Italian nobleman named Filippo degli Albizzi who introduced Albizia julibrissin into Europe from Constaninople around 1749. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Alchornea (Euphorbiaceae): named for the English botanist Stanesby Alchorne (1727-1800), a plant collector and worker at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Alciope (Asteraceae): named for a nymph in Greek mythology. Aldrovanda (Droseraceae): after the Italian botanist Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605), pharmacologist, naturalist, plant collector, doctor of medicine, and Director of the Botanical Garden of Bologna, one of the first in Europe. He was considered by Linnaeus as the father of natural history studies. He had vast collections of botanical and zoological specimens. Allenia (Malvaceae): honors the South African botanist Robert Allen Dyer (1900-1987), Director of the Botanical Research Institute in Pretoria. [Now in genus Radyera] Alonsoa (Scrophulariaceae): named for Cenón (or Zenón) Alonso Acosta Zorilla y Dávila (1756-?), a Spanish government official. (Ruiz and Pavon, "Systema Vegtabilium Florae Peruvianae et Chilensis," 1798) alstonii (Cephalophyllum): named for Capt. Edward G. Alston (fl. 1891-1917), farm manager and botanical collector in the Northern Cape. (Eggli & Newton) altensteinii (Encephalartos): named after Baron von Stein zum Altenstein, a statesman at the court of King Fredrick William 3 rd of Prussia, by Lehmann in 1834. (PlantzAfrica) Althenia (Zannichelliaceae): dedicated to Jean Althen (1709-1774), author of Mémoire sur la culture de la garance, Persian agronomist, who developed in France the cultivation of madder. Although the plant had been present in the region before his arrival, it was Althen who developed its cultivation, turning it into an industry. In 1754, he arrived in Avignon where he started experimenting with the cultivation of madden. Associated with a local landlord, Clauseau Aïné, he produced a crop of 2500 kg (5500 lbs) in 1769. Poor business decisions led to financial problems, and he died in poverty in 1774. A French commune, Althen-des-Paluds, is named after him, as well as statues and streets in several cities of the south of France. Ammannia (Lythraceae): honors the German physician
Paul Ammann (1634-1691), botanist and professor at the University of
Leipzig. Andreaea (Andreaeaceae): Named for an apothecary and chemist of Hanover, Johann Gerhard Reinhard Andrea (1724-1793). "He was born in Hannover, the son of a pharmacist. After training in a Frankfurt pharmacy, he studied in Leiden and England. Returning to Hannover, he took over his father's pharmacy. He did field work in Switzerland and became interested in chemistry and mineralogy, describing 300 types of soils. Besides natural history, he read great literature in various languages, especially loved the English poets, and was a fine pianist. Friedrich Ehrhart, with whom he worked, named this genus after him." (from the online Guide to the Bryophytes of Colorado by William A. Weber) He was appointed to the royal court of Hannover and his work on soils was performed with an eye to determining which would be best for certain kinds of agriculture. Apparently met and befriended Benjamin Franklin on his visit to Hannover. Ansellia (Orchidaceae): named after the British plant collector John Ansell (?-1847), gardener and assistant botanist on Capt. Allen's Niger expedition in 1841. Aongstroemia (Dicranaceae): ??? Araujia (Apocynaceae): named for the Portuguese
Antonio de Araujo de Azevedo (1784-1817), patron of botany, count of
Barca. Portuguese statesman. After cooperating in the establishment
of the academy of sciences at Lisbon, he represented his government
in Holland, France, Prussia, and Russia. He was first minister of John
VI., whom he followed to Brazil in 1807. There he was minister of the
navy and of foreign affairs, and took great interest in promoting education
and industry. He taught the Brazilians how to manu- Arethusa (Orchidaceae): named for a mythological wood nymph named Arethusa, who was changed into a stream by Artemis. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Arrowsmithia (Asteraceae): ??? Artemisia (Asteraceae): referring to the Greek
goddess Artemis who so benefitted from a plant of this family that she
gave it her own name. This was also the old Latin name given to the
mugwort or worm- Asclepias (Apocynaceae): honors the Greek God of medicine. Astridia (Mesembryanthemaceae): commemorates a
certain Mrs. Gustav Schwantes (née Astrid Elise Wilberg),
wife of the German botanist Gustav Schwantes (1891-1960), archeologist
and professor of pre-history. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Augea (Zygophyllaceae): honors the German gardener and naturalist Johann Andreas Auge (1711-1805), botanical collector who died in the Cape Provinc. He was a participant of a land expedition from the Cape Colony to Namibia from July 1761 to April 1762. The expedition consisted of its leader Hendrik Hop, Surveyor Carel Frederik Brink, Johan Auge, Surgeon Carel Christoffel Rijkvoet, scout Jacobus Coetzee and twelve other Cape burghers, as well as 68 Basters [descendants of liaisons between the Cape Colony Dutch and indigenous African women. They largely live in Namibia and are similar to oloured or Griqua people in South Africa. The name Baster is derived from the Dutch word for ‘mixed race’ or ‘crossbreed'.] They crossed the Oranje River on Sep. 29, 1761, visited Warmbad, travelled northwards up to the Xamob (present-day Löwen) River, and turned back on Dec. 9, 1761. On Feb. 9, 1762, they crossed the Oranje River on their way back. He died in 1805. (Biographies of Namibian Personalities) Bachmannia (Capparaceae): see following entry bachmannii (Thamnochortus): the species 'bachmannii' is named after German naturalist and physician Dr. Franz Ewald Bachmann (1856-c.1916) who collected several new species on the Sandveld along the West Coast, while he practised medicine in Darling and Hopefield from 1883–1887. (PlantzAfrica) Baikiaea (Fabaceae): honors the Scottish doctor and naturalist William Balfour Baikie (1825-1864), Royal Navy surgeon, plant collector, explorer and philologist, surgeon and naturalist (and then commander) on the Niger expedition of 1854. He also led a second expedition to the Niger in 1857 and established a settlement there. Baillonella (Sapotaceae): named after the French botanist Henri Ernest Baillon (1827-1895), a professor of natural history at the Faculté de Médecine, Paris, and author of numerous botanical works. bainesii (Aloe): this plant was first discovered by Mary Elizabeth Barber, who was a plant collector in the former Transkei. She sent specimens of the plant and its flowers to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where it was named by Dyer (1874) in her honour. Subsequently it was also found in the Tugela River Valley (KwaZulu-Natal) by the well known traveller, explorer and painter Mr. Thomas Baines in 1873. He sent a specimen to Joseph Hooker at Kew, where it was named in his honour. Although known for many years as Aloe bainesii, Aloe barberae was the name first given to this plant, and takes precedence according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. (PlantzAfrica). There is today a Thomas Baines Nature Preserve in the Eastern Cape. "Baines was an English artist and explorer of British colonial southern Africa and Australia. Born in King's Lynn in Norfolk, United Kingdom, Baines was apprenticed to a coach painter at an early age. When he was 22 he left England for South Africa and worked for a while in Cape Town as a scenic and portrait artist, and as a sniper[citation needed] for the British Army. In 1855 Baines joined Augustus Gregory’s 1855–1857 Royal Geographical Society sponsored expedition across northern Australia as official artist and storekeeper. The expedition’s purpose was to explore the Victoria River district in the north-west and to evaluate the entire northern area of Australia in terms of its suitability for colonial settlement. His association with the North Australian Expedition was the highpoint of his career, and he was warmly commended for his contribution to it, to the extent that Mount Baines and the Baines River were named in honour of him. In 1858 Baines accompanied David Livingstone along the Zambezi, and was one of the first white men to view Victoria Falls. In 1869 Baines led one of the first gold prospecting expeditions to Mashonaland in what later became Rhodesia. In 1870 Baines was granted a concession to explore for gold between the Gweru and Hunyani rivers by Lobengula, leader of the Matabele nation. Thomas Baines died in Durban in 1875. Baines is today best known for his detailed paintings and sketches which give a unique insight into colonial life in southern Africa and Australia. Many of his pictures are held by the National Library of Australia, National Archives of Zimbabwe, National Maritime Museum, Brenthurst Library and the Royal Geographical Society." (Wikipedia) Baissea (Apocynaceae): honors an 18th century Jesuit father named Sarrabat also known as de la Baisse who conducted experiments on having living plants suck up colored fluids. Ballya (Commelinaceae): named after the Swiss botanist
Peter René Oscar Bally (1895-1980), a taxonomist and plant collector
in Kenya and Tanganyika (now Tanzania) who died in Nairobi. He was also
head of the herbarium of Coryndon National Museum, Nairobi, Kenya, 1938–1958.
Barbarea (Brassicaceae): dedicated to Saint Barbara, patron of artillerymen and miners, and an early Christian martyr. According to legend, St. Barbara was beheaded by her own father, a wealthy heathen named Dioscorus, for expressing a belief in Christ. barbeyi (Cotyledon): the species name 'barbeyi' was given after William Barbey (1842-1914), a Swiss philanthropist and botanist. barkarae (Leucadendron, Drosanthemum): after Miss Winsome Fanny Barker (1907-1994), South African botanist at the National Botanic Gardens (Eggli & Newton). Barnardiella (Iridaceae): honors the English anthropologist Thomas Theodore Barnard (1898-1983), plant collector and Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Barrowia (Apocynaceae): named for English statesman Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) who was at the Cape from 1797 to 1804. He also travelled extensively in China and was a major promoter of Arctic voyages of exploration, including those of John Ross, William Edward Parry, James Clark Ross, and John Franklin. Bartholina (Orchidaceae): commemorates the Danish anatomist Thomas Bartholin (1616-1680), physician, physiologist, mathematician, theologian and professor of anatomy at Copenhagen. He was one of the original discoverers of the lymphatic system in humans. Twelve members of his family became professors at the University of Copenhagen. He revised and illustrated a seminal work by his father Caspar Bartholin which became the standard reference on anatomy. He also became the physician to King Christian V of Denmark. Bartramia (Tiliaceae): named for John Bartram (1699-1777), the noted American botanist called by Linnaeus the greatest natural botanist in the world. He founded the 12 acre Bartram Botanical Gardens near Philadenphia, said to be the first in America, and he was one of the co-founders, along with Benjamin Franklin, of the American Philosophical Society in 1742. He was particularly noted for sending seeds of American trees and plants to Europe. He was made Royal Botanist by George III in 1765, a position which he held until his death. Bartsia (Scrophulariaceae): honors the Dutch botanist and physician Johann Bartsch (1709-1738), who died in Suriname, where he had been sent by fellow Dutchman Hermann Boerhaave at the recommendation of Carolus Linnaeus. He was the author of Thesis de Calore Corporis Humani hygraulico. Bassia (Chenopodiaceae): named for the Italian botanist and naturalist Ferdinando Bassi (1710-1774), Prefect of the Bologna Botanical Garden. batesiana (Gasteria): commemorates
a Mr. John Bates, a trolley bus conductor in London and a keen collector
of South African succulents, and was described by Mr. Gordon Rowley
in the National Cactus and Succulent Journal in 1960, a well known succulent
author living near Reading, England. (PlantzAfrica) baueri (Erica): Ericas also became favorite subjects for botanical artists resulting in several important works on the genus. In one of these, H.C. Andrews's "Heathery," published in 1805, Andrews depicted Erica baueri for the first time. He named it after his fellow artist at Kew, Francis Bauer (1758-1810), who was botanical artist to King George III. (PlantzAfrica) Bauhinia (Fabaceae): the genus Bauhinia
was established by Linnaeus in 1753 and commemorates the brothers Gaspard
(or Caspar) (1560-1624) and Johann (or Jean) Bauhin (1541-1613) , both
botanists and herbalists, the characteristic paired leaves being a reflection
of their relationship. "Gaspard Bauhin introduced binomial nomenclature
into taxonomy, which was much later taken up by Linnaeus. Bauhin's work,
Pinax theatri botanici (1596), was the first to use this convention
for naming of species. He also worked on human anatomical nomenclature.
His brother, Johann Bauhin, or Jean Bauhin, was also a physician and
botanist. Jean and Gaspard were the sons of Jean Bauhin (1511-1582),
a French physician who had to leave his native country on becoming a
convert to Protestantism. Gaspard was born at Basel and studied medicine
at Padua, Montpellier, and in Germany. Returning to Basel in 1580, he
was admitted to the degree of doctor, and gave private lectures in botany
and anatomy. In 1582 he was appointed to the Greek professorship in
that university, and in 1588 to the chair of anatomy and botany. He
was later made city physician, professor of the practice of medicine,
rector of the university, and dean of his faculty. In addition to Pinax
Theatri Botanici, Gaspard planned another work, a Theatrum Botanicum,
meant to be comprised in twelve parts folio, of which he finished three;
only one, however, was published (1658). He also gave a copious catalogue
of the plants growing in the environs of Basel, and edited the works
of Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1500-1577) with considerable additions. His
principal work on anatomy was Theatrum Anato- Baynesia (Apocynaceae): likely named after the Baynes Mountains of northern Namibia and not after a person. Beckeropsis (Poaceae): named for German botanist Johannes Becker (1769-1833). Begonia (Begoniaceae): named after the French patron of botany Michel Bégon de la Picardière (1638-1710), Governor of French Canada and Santo Domingo (Haiti). The name was given by Charles Plumier, a botanist from France who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to visit and study these flowers which grew abundantly in Haiti.(CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Behnia (Philesiaceae): possibly named after Wilhelm Friedrich Georg Behn (1808-1878), director of the zoological museum at Kiel, friend and companion of Danish botanist Didrik Ferdinand Didrichsen (1814-1887). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Beilschmiedia (Lauraceae): honors German botanist
and apothecary Carl (Karl) Traugott Beilschmied (1793-1848). Berardia (Bruniaceae): ??? Bergeranthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): honors the
German botanist and horticulturist Alwin Berger (1871-1931), authority
on Cactaceae and Superintendent of the Hanbury Garden in La Mortola,
Italy. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Berkheya (Asteraceae): Berkheyas are often thistle-like. Of the 75 species in the genus, about 71 species are indigenous to South Africa. The German botanist Ehrhart founded the genus Berkheya in 1788, and named it in honor of the Dutch botanist (and physician?), Jan le Francq van Berkhey (1729-1812). (PlantzAfrica) Berrisfordia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for a
Mr. G. Berrisford. Bewsia (Poaceae): dedicated to the Scottish ecologist John William Bews (1884-1938), professor of botany at Natal University College in South Africa, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, and author of The World's Grasses. Bignonia (Bignoniaceae): named after Abbé Jean Paul Bignon (1662-1743), librarian to King Louis XIV. "The Abbé Jean-Paul Bignon was Royal Librarian at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France from 1718 to 1741, and brought the institution to its glorious zenith. The Bibliotheque had been set up in 1368 by Charles V, 'the Wise', who had moved his personal library of some 917 manuscripts into the Louvre to be cared for by the then Guardian Gilles Malet. The Bibliotheque was moved several times around France, growing in size and diversity under the auspices of several key librarians including the statesman Colbert, who moved the collection to the Paris quarter where it still resides. By the time Bignon arrived in 1719 the library, now the Bibliotheque du Roi, had become the leading library in Europe. The number of volumes it carried had outgrown the most immediate database system of the time, in that the librarians could no longer rely on their memories to find titles. Bignon expanded on the classification system of his predecessor Nicolas Clement - who had divided printed material into 23 categories - by organising the library into five departments, covering Manuscripts, Printed Books, Titles and Genealogy, Engraved Plates and Prints, Medals and Stone Engravings. Bignon made great efforts to add to the library by attempting to procure the major works of European scholars. He also took the unprecedented step of opening the library to the public, but only for three hours one day of the week. Not least by imitating the opening times of some modern libraries, the Abbe established himself as truly being a man ahead of his time." (Digital Handbook of Library Science) Bijlia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for Paul Andries van der Byl (Bijl) (1888-1939), a collector of succulents. He was on the staff of the Division of Plant Pathology in Pretoria, then in 1918 he was transferred to Durban as officer in charge of the Botanic Station and Natal Herbarium, to work on diseases of sugar-cane and other tropical crops. In 1921 he was appointed Professor of Phytopathology in the newly formed Agricultural Faculty of Stellenbosch University, the first professor in this subject in South Africa, and built his department up from scratch to a leading place for teaching and research in phytopathology and mycology. He was the first professor of plant pathology in South Africa, and his department was also the first department of plant pathology in the British Commonwealth. In 1928 he became principal of the Stellenbosch Elsenburg Agricultural College, a post he held until his death. During his career he established one of the most extensive lichen collections ever obtained in South Africa, and after his death, the P.A. Van Der Bijl Herbarium was merged with the National Collection of Fungi (PREM). In 1928 he also published the first South African book dealing with diseases of plants. (South African Society of Plant Pathology and CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Since I wrote this I have heard from Leonard Newton, co-author of Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names who said that he was "under the impression that this genus was named for Mrs. Deborah van der Bijl (1872-1942) [wife of Paul Andries?] , founder and first president of the South African Succulent Society in 1931. She collected plants and sent them to, among others, Dr. N.E. Brown, author of the name Bijlia." So this remains uncertain at the moment pending further confirmation one way or the other. Blackwellia (Samydaceae): honors the Scottish botanist Elizabeth Blackwell (1707-1758), the first British female herbalist and among the first women to achieve fame as a botanical illustrator. She was artist and engraver for A Curious Herbal which contained illustrations of many odd-looking unfamiliar plants froom the New World. She undertook this job in order to raise funds to secure the release of her husband Alexander Blackwell from debtor's prison. Unfortunately her husband's story did not have a happy ending for after leaving his family and relocating to Sweden, he became involved in a political conspiracy, and was arrested and hanged. Blaeria (Ericaceae): ??? Blainvillea (Asteraceae): named after the French biologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (1777-1850), zoologist, physician, paleobiologist, and professor of zoology, comparative anatomy and physiology. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Blighia (Sapindaceae): honors British mariner William Bligh (1754-1817), navigator, sailing master on Captain James Cook's 2nd voyage, captain of the Bounty and Governor of New South Wales. Blotiella (Dennstaedtiaceae): dedicated to the French botanist and physician Marie-Laure Tardieu-Blot (1902- ), pteridologist and plant collector. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Blumea (Asteraceae): named after the Dutch botanist Karl Ludwig von Blume (1796-1862), physician, traveller, plant collector, Director of the Botanic Gardens at Buitenzorg, Superintendent of the Leyden Rijksherbarium. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Bobartia (Iridaceaea): honors the German botanist Jacob Bobart (1599-1680), the first Horti Praefectus (Superintendent) of the Oxford Physic Garden. His son, Jacob Bobart the Younger (1641-1719), suceeded his father as Horti Praefectus and became acting Professor of Botany at Oxford. Boeckeleria (Cyperaceae): commemorates Johann Otto Boeckeler (1803-1899). (David Hollombe) Boeckhia (Restionaceae): ??? Boehmeria (Urticaceae): named for the German botanist and physician Georg(e) Rudolf Boehmer (1723-1803), professor of botany and anatomy at the University of Wittenberg. Boerhavia (Nyctaginaceae): honors Dutch physician and botanist Herman Boerhaave (1668-1739), professor of botany and medicine, and one of the most influential clinicians and scientific educators of the 18th century. He published numerous works describing new species of plants. He was also skilled in chemistry. His work greatly increased the fame of the University of Leiden, where the operating theatre in which he once worked as an anatomist is now at the center of a museum named after him; the Boerhaave Museum. Boivinella (Sapotaceae): for the French botanist Louis Hyacinthe Boivin (1808-1852), plant collector on the islands of the Indian Ocean and the coasts of Africa, the Canary Islands and Madagascar. Bolusafra (Fabaceae): see next entry. Bolusia (Fabaceae): see previous entry. Bolusiella (Orchidaceae): see previous entry. Bonamia (Convolvulaceae): honors the French physician and botanist François Bonamy (1710-1786). Bonatea (Orchidaceae): described by the German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1805, and named after Guiseppe Antonio Bonato (1753-1836), who was professor of botany at Padua in Italy. (PlantzAfrica) Borbonia (Lauraceae): ??? Borreria (Rubiaceae): named for the British botanist
William J. Borrer, the Elder (1781-1862), horticulturist, plant collector,
Fellow of the Royal Society and the Linnaean Society, and author of
English Botany. He was a friend of Sir Joseph Banks and Sir William
Hooker, and was widely considered as the father of British lichenology. Boscia (Capparaceae): for the French botanist and horticulturist Louis Auguste Guillaume Bosc (1759-1828). Bouchea (Verbenaceae): honors German gardener Carl
David Bouché (1809-1881), botanist at the Berlin Botanical Garden. boylei (Aloe): named for botanist F. Boyle. (Elsa Pooley) Brackenridgea (Ochnaceae): named for the Scottish born American nurseryman and horticulturist William Dunlop Brackenridge (1810-1893). He was the naturalist and botanist on the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842 led by Commodore Charles Wilkes. Brasenia (Cabombaceae): "Derivation obscure, apparently from the plant's name in Guiana." Most references indicate derivation obscure. Rafinesque in 1828 said, "from a German botanist, Brasen," with no further details. However, James S. Pringle in a 1995 article in Sida, Contributions to Botany ("Possible Eponomy of the Generic Name Brasenia") suggests that there is good circumstantial evidence that the name does honor Christoph Brasen (1738-1774), a Danish surgeon and leader of the 1771 missionary expedition that established the Moravian mission of Nain on the coast of Labrador the purpose of which was to convert the Inuit residents there to Christianity, and served as its first superintendent. He died in 1774 when on the return trip a storm struck the exploratory voyage he was undertaking to explore the northern Labrador coast and establish a second mission post. The genus was named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber who was a professor of natural history and director of the botanical garden at Erlangen, Bavaria. He was familiar with the Moravians and frequently received collected plant specimens from them. Brasen is known to have collected botanical specimens in Labrador and had developed a reputation for being "knowledgeable in botany." Although no direct provable link has been uncovered between Brasen and von Schreber, it is highly likely that upon hearing of the former's death, the suggestion was made that an honorific name be granted to some taxon on his behalf. Braunia (Hedwigiaceae): ??? Braunsia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for German entomologist and physician Dr. Hans H.J.C. Brauns (1857-1929). Brayulinia (Amaranthaceae): named for the American botanists Edwin Burton Uline (1867-1933) and William L. Bray (1865-1953), students of the Amaranthaceae. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Breonadia (Rubiaceae): possibly named for Jean Nicholas Bréon (1785-1864), a palnt collector in Mauritius. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Breweria (Convolvulaceae): after the British botanist William Brewer (1670-1743). Brianhuntleya (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after Professor Brian Huntley (1944- ), head of South Africa's Botanical Research Institute. Bridelia (Phyllanthaceae): named for the Swiss botanist Samuel Elisée von Bridel (1761-1828), bryologist, poet and librarian, author of Bryologia universa. He studied at the University of Lausanne and later went to Gotha (Thuringia, Germany), where he taught the sovereign’s children, princes August and Friedrich von Sachsen-Gotha. He was one of the foremost bryological leaders of his time, and also published the to-volume work entitled Muscologia recentiorum. Most of his moss herbarium was acquired by the Botanical Museum of Berlin and fortunately escaped destruction during an air raid in World War II. britteniae (Faucaria): named for Lilian Louisa Britten (1886-1952), South African botanist at Rhodes University, widely regarded in her time as South Africa's top authority on the Eastern Cape flora. She worked as schoolteacher before continuing her botanical studies at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London, returning to Rhodes University in 1918. She concentrated her research on the genus Streptocarpus, and retired in 1941. She was a co-founder of the Nature Reserve Society, formed in 1932 to preserve the flora of Mountain Drive in Grahamstown. (Per. comm. from Alice Notten at Kirstenbosch) britteniae (Haworthia): named for Grace Violet Britten (1904-1987), a South African botanist and plant collector with an interest in indigenous flora, especially succulents. She worked as a botanical assistant at the Albany Museum Herbarium (1921-1984), was highly regarded for her knowledge of Eastern Cape flora, was an expert on the Genus Haworthia. (Per. comm. from Alice Notten at Kirstenbosch) Brothera (Dicranaceae): ??? Brownanthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): honors the British botanist at Kew Herbarium Nicholas Edward Brown (1849-1934), an expert on African plants with an honorary doctorate from Witwatersrand University who never visited Africa. Brownleea (Orchidaceae): named for the English
botanist Rev. John Brownlee (1791-1871), who was a gardener, theologian
and missionary in South Africa. Bruguiera (Rhizophoraceae): the genus name commemorates Jean Guillaume Bruguiere(s) (1750–1798), botanical artist and plant collector, who was sent by the French government to Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues and Kerguelen Islands, and collected at the Cape in 1792. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names). Brunia (Bruniaceae): the genus Brunia is most likely named after a contemporary of Linnaeus, the apothecary, Dr. Cornelius Brun, who travelled in Russia and the Levant, although it could also be in commemoration of Dr. Alexander Brown, a ship's surgeon and plant collector who worked in the East Indies around 1690. (PlantzAfrica, CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Brunsvigia (Amaryllidaceae): the name Brunsvigia was first published in 1755 by Lorenz Heisters, a botanist and professor of medicine at the University of Helmstädt. It honors Karl [Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand (1713-1780), Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg, patron of the arts and sciences], the Sovereign of Braunschweig, who promoted the study of plants, including the beautiful Cape species B. orientalis. (PlantzAfrica) Buchenroedera (Fabaceae): ??? Buchnera (Scrophulariaceae): the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names says, "presumably named in honor of the German naturalist Johann Gottfried Buchner (1695-1749), or after the physician Andreas Elias Buchner (1701-1769, a German naturalist." Buddleja (Buddlejaceae): the genus is named after
the Rev. Adam Buddle (1660-1715), an English rector and botanist. (PlantzAfrica) Bulliarda (Crassulaceae): commemorates the French botanist Jean Baptiste François Bulliard (1752-1793), naturalist and author of Flora parisiensis. Bunburia (Apocynaceae): possibly named after Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury (1809-1886), traveller, plant collector in South Africa, author of A Journal of a Residence at the Cape of Good Hope. (There is also a genus Bunburya in the Rubiaceae likely named for the same person) (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Bunburya (Rubiaceae): see previous entry. Burchellia (Rubiaceae): this tree was named after William John Burchell (1781-1863), botanical collector, painter, writer, gardener, entomologist, early explorer and naturalist in South Africa who was the author of Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa , a book that was published in 1822. (CRC World Dictionary of Pplant Names). "[He is] regarded as one of the greatest of the early African explorers. He was an accomplished naturalist, who ammassed vast natural history collections and described many new species. His achievements were not fully recognized by his contemporaries and he became a solitary and unhappy figure in later life. He developed an interest in natural history early on in life and was particularly taken with botany, which he studied at Kew Gardens. In his mid twenties Burchell took up the position of schoolmaster and acting botanist on the island of St. Helena. His fiancee set out to join him in 1807, however, upon arrival, she announced a change of heart; she was to marry the captain of the ship that had carried her to the island, and Burchell was to remain a bachelor until his death in 1863." (website of Oxford University Museum of Natural History) His name is also on the Burchell's zebra. Burkea (Fabaceae): named for British botanist and collector Joseph Burke (1812-1873). He participated in several collecting expeditions with the noted South African botanist Carl L.P. Zeyher, and later emigrated to the U.S. Burmannia (Burmanniaceae): honors the Dutch botanist and physician Johannes Burman (1707-1779), a professor of botany at Amsterdam who studied under Herman Boerhaave and who was a close friend of Carolus Linnaeus. He was the author of Thesaurus zeylanicus. Burnatia (Alismataceae): dedicated to Emile Burnat (1828-1920), Swiss engineer, industrialist, magistrate and amateur botanist. Buttonia (Scrophulariaceae): named for the English botanist Edward Button (1836-1900), plant collector who died in South Africa. Caesalpinia (Fabaceae): named for the noted Italian botanist and plant collector Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603), naturalist, philospher and physician to Pope Clement VIII, professor of medicine and botany at Oisa and Rome, Praefectus of the first Botanical Garden of Pisa and founder of the second. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Caesia (Antheriaceae): named after the Italian botanist Federico Cesi (Fridericus Caesius) (1585-1630), microscopist and supporter of Galileo. Calandrinia (Portulacaceae): named for the Swiss botanist Jean Louis Calandrini (1703-1758), traveller and professor of mathematics and philosophy at Geneva. Caldesia (Alismataceae): named for the Italian botanist Ludovico Caldesi (1822-1884), politician, mycologist, naturalist, and member of Parliament. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Calpurnia (Fabaceae): the genus Calpurnia is named after the Roman poet Calpurnius. Calvaria (Sapotaceae): ??? Caperonia (Euphorbiaceae): named for Noël
Caperon or Capperon of Orleans, an apothecary who was the first to call
Fritillaria by that name. He was a Protestant and was murdered by a
Catholic mob in 1572. Casearia (Flacourtiaceae): named after the Dutch clergyman Johannes Casearius (1642-1678), a missionary, minister of the Dutch East India Company, and co-author of the first two volumes of Hendrik A. Van Rheede's Hortus Indicus Malabaricus. Cassinia (Asteraceae): named for the French botanist and naturalist Alexandre Henri Gabriel Comte de Cassini (1781-1832). "He was the youngest of five children of Jacques Dominique, Comte de Cassini, who had succeeded his father as the director of the Paris Observatory, famous for completing the map of France. He was also the great-great-grandson of famous Italian-French astronomer, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, discoverer of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. The genus Cassinia was named in his honour by the botanist Robert Brown. He named many flowering plants and new genera in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), many of them from North America. He published 65 papers and 11 reviews in the [Nouveau] Bulletin des Sciences par la Société Philomatique de Paris between 1812 and 1821. In 1825, A. Cassini placed the North American taxa of Prenanthes in the new genus Nabalus, now considered a subgenus of Prenanthes (family Asteraceae, tribe Lactuceae). In 1828 he named Dugaldia hoopesii for the Scottish naturalist Dugald Stewart (1753-1828)." (Wikipedia) Cavacoa (Euphorbiaceae): genus named for the Portuguese botanist Alberto Judice Leote Cavaco (1916- ?), plant collector in Mozambique. Celmisia (Asteraceae): named for Celmision, son of the Greek nymph Alciope. Celsia (Scrophulariaceae): named after the Swedish
theologist, botanist, plant collector, teacher and patron of Linnaeus
Olof Celsius, the Elder (1670-1756). Chapmanolirion (Amaryllidaceae): named for James Chapman (1831-1872), a South African explorer, hunter, trader and photographer. Chironia (Gentianaceae): the name Chironia refers to this plant's medicinal attributes. It is named after Chiron, the good Centaur of Greek mythology who studied medicine, astronomy, music, and other arts, and was a skilled herbalist. Legend has it that he was accidentally shot and killed by Zeus who then put him in the sky as Alpha and Beta Centauri, the pointer stars for the Southern Cross. (PlantzAfrica) Chloris (Poaceae): dedicated to Chloris, the Greek goddess of flowers and the personification of spring/. Chomelia (Rubiaceae): honors the French physician Pierre Jean Baptiste Chomel (1674-1740). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Christella (Thelypteridaceae): named for the Swiss botanist and plant geographer Konrad Hermann Heinrich Christ (1833-1933), pteridologist and professor of botany at Basel. Cienfuegosia (Malvaceae): commemorates the 16th century Spanish botanist Bernardo Cienfuegos. Clausena (Rutaceae): named after Danish priest Peder Claussen (1545-1614). Cliffortia (Rosaceae): the genus name honors George Clifford, a rich Anglo-Dutch financier and a Director of the Dutch East India Company who was also a keen horticulturist. In Amsterdam , Linnaeus stayed with Clifford, who owned a large, famous garden and the Zoo; around 1735, Linnaeus named the genus after his patron. (PlantzAfrica) Clivia (Amaryllidaceae): the plant is named after Lady Florentina Clive, the granddaughter of Baron Robert Clive who founded the British Empire in India. Clutia (Euphorbiaceae): named for the Dutch botanist and apothecary Outgers Cluyt (Theodorus Angerius Clutius) (1590-1650). Clytia (Euphorbiaceae): ??? Coddia (Rubiaceae): see following entry. Coldenia (Boraginaceae): named after the Irish-born Scottish scientist and physician Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776). He studied medicine in London, was a historian and botanist, emigrated to America and was the father of the American botanist Jane Colden. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Commelina (Commelinaceae): honors the Dutch botanists
Jan or Johan Commelin (1629-1692), his nephew Caspar Commelin (1667/1668-1731), and possibly his son Caspar as well. The flowers of Commelina have two large showy petals and a single small petal, and according to Stearn supposedly the two large petals represented (at least for Linnaeus who adopted the name given by Plumier) Commelin senior and the nephew, while the small one represented the son who never achieved anything in the field of botany. Cordia (Boraginaceae): the genus Cordia is so called for the German botanist and pharmacist Valerius Cordus (1514/1515-1544), traveller and botanical collector who received a degree of bachelor of medicine at the University of Marburg. He was one of the fathers of pharmacognostics (a subfield of pharmacology which studies natural drugs, including the study of their biological and chemical components, botanical sources, and other characteristics) and died in Rome. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Coulteria (Fabaceae): ??? Courtoisia/Courtoisina (Cyperaceae): honors the Belgian botanist Richard Joseph Courtois (1806-1835). Crabbea (Acanthaceae): named for the British amateur botanist and poet Rev. George Crabbe (1754-1832), a prolific writer. Craibia (Fabaceae): the genus name honors William Grant Craib (1882–1933), a British botanist whose career included a spell as Assistant for India at Kew and a professorship at Aberdeen University. (PlantzAfrica). croucheri (Gasteria): first collected and introduced into cultivation by Thomas Cooper in 1860. It was named by Hooker in 1880. In 1869 he had described it as Aloe croucheri in Curtis's Botanical Journal stating, "This, the handsomest Gasteria of the kind that has hitherto flowered at Kew, is named after the intelligent foreman of the propagating department, Mr Croucher, under whose care the succulent plants of the Royal Garden are placed, and to whose zeal and special love for this class of plant the collection owes much of its value and interest." (PlantzAfrica) Cullen (Fabaceae): ??? Cunonia (Cunoniaceae): the genus Cunonia is named after the Dutch naturalist Johann Christian Cuno (1708-1780), who published a book of verse about his garden in which many exotic plants were growing. Curroria (Apocynaceae): named for a Mr. Andrew B. Curror (c1812-?) of HMS Water-Witch, a Scottish surgeon and plant collector in Angola in the 1840's. Curtisia (Cornaceae): Curtisia is named in honor of William Curtis (1746-1799), founder of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, first published in 1786 and still going today, nurseryman, and entomologist. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Cussonia (Araliaceae): the name Cussonia was given by Carl Peter Thunberg to commemorate the French botanist Pierre Cusson (1727-1783). Cuviera (Rubiaceae): named for the French naturalist Georges Léopold Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron Cuvier (1769-1832). He succeeded Lamarck in the Chair of Comparative Anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes. He founded vertebrate paleontology as a scientific discipline. yet he was not a believer in evolution, being of the opinion that all species were created at once. Cyclopia (Fabaceae): presumably named after the mythological Cyclops. Cymodocea (Cymodoceaceae): named after the sea-nymph Cymodoce, in mythology one of the Nereids and a companion of Venus. Dahlgrenodendron (Lauraceae): named for the Danish botanist Rolf T. M. Dahlgren (1932-1987) from the University of Lund. Before his untimely death in a traffic accident he wrote extensively on plant systematics. Dahlia (Hamamelidaceae): named after the Swedish botanist and physician Andreas (Anders) Dahl (1751-1789), a student of Linnaeus at Uppsala University. "Thanks to recommendations from Linnaeus, Dahl was employeed as a curator at Claes Alströmer's natural cabinett and botanical garden at Kristinedal in Gamlestaden outside Gothenburg. Andreas Dahl followed Claes Alströmer when he in 1785 moved to his estate Gåsevadsholm outside Kungsbacka, after that he had fallen into a bad economical predicament. In 1786 Dahl was conferred an honorary doctor's degree of medicine in Kiel and in 1787 he became associate professor and botanical demonstrator at the university of Turku (Åbo). To Turku he brought his herbarium which later was destroyed in the big fire in Turku in 1827. Parts of Dahl's collections are preserved and kept in Sahlberg's herbarium in the Botanical Museum at the University of Helsinki and in Giseke's herbarium in the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh." (website of the Swedish Museum of Natural History) There is another genus Dahlia in the Asteraceae family which is also named for him, but it is not represented in South Africa. Dalbergia (Fabaceae): named for the 18th century Swedish planter Carl Gustav Dahlberg, a mercenary soldier in Suriname and botanical collector for Linnaeus. dalenii (Gladiolus): named for Cornelius Dalen, Director of the Rotterdam Botanic Gardens. (Elsa Pooley) Danthonia (Poaceae): named for the 18th century French botanist and agrostologist Étienne Danthoine. Daubenya (Hyacinthaceae): honors the English botanist and physician Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny (1795-1867), professor of chemistry and botany at Oxford, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, and plant collector in the U.S., West Indies and Europe. Davallia (Davalliaceae): named after the English-born
Swiss botanist Edmund Davall (1763-1798), plant collector and Fellow
of the Linnaean Society. Decorsea (Fabaceae): honors the French military physician Gaston Jules Decorse (1873-1907). Deinbollia (Sapindaceae): honors the Danish botanist Peter Vogelius Deinboll (1784-1874), plant collector and clergyman. Delairia (Asteraceae): named after Eugene Delaire (1810-1856), head gardener at the botanical gardens in Orleans from 1837 to 1856. (Calflora.net) Derenbergia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for German physician and succulent plant collector Dr. Julius Derenberg (1873-1928) who had a particular interest in the Mesembs. Deroemeria (Orchidaceae): possibly named for the same Mr. de Roemer (fl. 1852) for whom the orchid genus Deroemera is named? Deschampsia (Poaceae): honors the French botanist, naturalist and surgeon Louis Auguste Deschamps (1765-1842). A website of the National Herbarium of the Netherlands offers this information: "Surgeon-Naturalist of the expedition of the ‘Recherche’ in search of [the explorer Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de la Perouse] 1791-1793. When the expedition stranded in Java he was interned for a short interval, but Governor van Overstraten offered him to stay in Java to make natural history investigations for which he would get facilities to extend his research into the interior of the island. Deschamps accepted, as he says, in the interest of science, and took leave of his travel companions. In the subsequent years this Frenchman made numerous trips, and he certainly has been the first to make botanical collections on several of the mountains and in many remote localities of Java. It is a pity that evidently none of his botanical specimens are preserved, as his diary, drawings and MS. papers are such that we might have expected extremely valuable material. During his travels he was partly accompanied by some young assistants who were to help him with the description and drawing of plants and animals (he collected fishes too!). Afterwards he settled at Batavia as a physician until 1802, in which year he sailed for Mauritius. Later he settled at St. Omer in France" Descurainia (Brassicaceae): named for French pharmacist and botanist François Déscourain (1658-1740), friend of Bernard de Jussieu. Desmazeria (Poaceae): honors the French botanist Jean Baptiste Henri Joseph Desmazieres (1786-1862), horticulturist and author of Plantes cryptogrames de Nord de la France. Deverra (Apiaceae): named for the Roman goddess who protects women in labor, and patroness of midwives. Dewinterella (Amaryllidaceae): possibly after Bernard De Winter (1924- ), South African botanist and author of Sixty-six Transvaal trees. There is also a Rust De Winter Nature Reserve in South Africa. Dietrichia (Crassulaceae): ??? Dintera (Scrophulariaceae): honors the German botanist and explorer Moritz Kurt Dinter (1868-1945), plant collector in SW Africa. Dinteranthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): see previous entry. Dittrichia (Asteraceae): named for the German botanist Manfred Dittrich (1934- ), a specialist in the Asteraceae. Dobrowskya (Campanulaceae): named for philologist
Joseph Dobrowsky (1753-1829). Dodonaea (Sapindaceae): honors one of the foremost botanists of his day, the Flemish physician and herbalist Rembert Dodoens (1517/1518-1585), on the faculty of medicine at Leyden University. Dombeya (Sterculiaceae): named for French botanist
Joseph Dombey (1742-1796?), physician, naturalist, explorer and traveller
in Chile and Peru, died in prison in the West Indies. Dorotheanthus (Aizoaceae): the name Dorotheanthus was given by Dr. Martin Heinrich Schwantes in honor of his mother Dorothea Schwantes. (PlantzAfrica) Dortmannia (Lobeliaceae): probably honors a Dutch
apothecary named Dortmann. Dregea (Apocynaceae): named after the German plant collector Jean François Drège (1794-1881), a botanical explorer and traveller who arrived in the Cape 1826. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) There is another genus Dregea in the Apiaceae which may be named for someone else. dreageanus (Melianthus): see previous entry. dregei (Eriathemum): see previous entry. Dregeochloa (Poaceae): named after Johann Franz Drege (1794-1881), a German plant collector in the Cape in the early 1800's. Duchesnea (Rosaceae): honors the French horticulturist and botanist Antoine Nicholas Duchesne (1747-1827). Dufourea (Podostemaceae): named for the French botanist, mycologist and naturalist Jean-Marie Léon Marie Dufour (1780-1865). Dumasia (Fabaceae): named for the French scientist Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas (1800-1884), son-in-law of Alexandre Brongniart. Dumortia (Marchantiaceae): ??? Duranta (Verbenaceae): honors the Italian botanist Castore Durante (1529-1590), physician to Pope Sixtus V. Duthiastrum (Iridaceae): after botanist Dr. Augusta
Vera Duthie (1881-1963), born in Knysna, lecturer in botany at Victoria
College which later became Stellenbosch University. Duvernoia (Acanthaceae): named after the German botanist Johann Georg Duvernoy (1692-1759), studied under Joseph Pitton de Tournefort. dyeri (Agapanthus): this species was named after Dr. Robert Allen Dyer (1900-1987), Director of the Botanical Research Institute in Praetoria, South Africa. (PlantzAfrica) Dyerophytum (Plumbaginaceae): after the British botanist Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (1843-1928). Eberlanzia (Mesembryanthemaceae): honors the German botanist Friedrich Gustav Eberlanz (1879-1966). Ecklonea (Cyperaceae): named for Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1795-1868), a Danish pharmacist, botanist and plant collector, and one of the early botanical explorers of the Cape. He moved to South Africa in 1823 as first an apothecary's apprentice and then pharmacist and collected plants from 1823 to 1833, returning to Europe in 1828 with vast amounts of collected material which were distributed to German and Danish botanists. During part of this time he worked with Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher with whom he published a catalogue of South African plants (1835-7). From 1833 to 1838 he was in Hamburg working on revising his collection, later returning to South Africa where he eventually died. ecklonis (Dimorphotheca): see previous entry. Edmondia (Asteraceae): possibly named for Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810-1885), Swiss botanist, but this is just a wild guess. Ehretia (Boraginaceae): named after an 18th century German botanical artist, George Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770), gardener and friend and correspondent of Linnaeus. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Ehrharta (Poaceae): honors the Swiss-born German botanist Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart (1742-1795), naturalist and pupil of Linnaeus at Uppsala University and friend of his son, also Director of the Botanical Garden of Hannover. Important collections of this outstanding German botanist are kept at the Herbarium of Moscow University. Eichhornia (Pontederiaceae): commemorates the Prussian minister of education and public welfare, court advisor and politician Johann Albrecht Friedrich Eichhorn (1779-1856). Ekebergia (Meliaceae): named by the Swedish botanist Anders Sparrman after Captain Carl Gustav Ekeberg (1716-1784), whose sponsorship made it possible for him to visit Africa. Elsiea (Hyacinthaceae): dedicated to Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen (1912- ), botanical collector and botanist at the Bolus Herbarium, the oldest functioning herbarium in South Africa established in 1856. emelyae (Haworthia): honors Mrs. Emily Ferguson (fl. 1928-1933), plant collector in South Africa. Englerastrum (Lamiaceae): honors the German botanist Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (1844-1930). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Engleria (Asteraceae): see previous entry. Englerodaphne (Thymelaeaceae): see previous entry. Englerophytum (Sapotaceae): see previous entry. Eschscholzia (Papaveraceae): named after Dr. Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (1793-1831), an Estonian surgeon and botanist who came with the Russian expeditions to the Pacific coast in 1816 and 1824. On their first visit to the San Francisco region, his name was put on the previously undescribed California poppy by his friend and companion Adelbert von Chamisso (see chamissonis), and subsequently on dozens of other newly discovered flowers. Later he returned the favor by naming a lupine after his friend, Lupinus chamissonis. Esterhuysenia (Mesembryanthemaceae): see Elsiea. Eugenia (Myrtaceae): dedicated to the French-born Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), book collector and patron of botany, one of the greatest of the Austrian Hapsburg generals. He distinguished himself in many campaigns, most notably against the Turks who were besieging Vienna, again against the Turks after they recaptured Belgrade, and against the French in Italy and Provence during the War of Spanish Succession. He was the only person whose name has been given to warships of four different navies, British, Austro-Hungarian, German and Italian. The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen operated alongside the battleship Bismarck when the latter sank HMS Hood in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Eulalia (Poaceae): honors the painter Eulalie Delile who illustrated the work of the French naturalist Victor Jacquemont (see Jacquemontia). Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae): named for Euphorbus, Greek physician of Juba II, King of Mauretania. Juba was educated in Rome and married the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra. He was apparently interested in botany and had written about an African cactus-like plant he had found or which he knew about from the slopes of Mt. Atlas which was used as a powerful laxative. That plant may have been Euphorbia resinifera, and like all Euphorbias had a latexy exudate. Euphorbus had a brother named Antonius Musa who was the physician to Augustus Caesar in Rome. When Juba heard that Caesar had honored his physician with a statue, he decided to honor his own physician by naming the plant he had written about after him. The word Euphorbus derives from eu, "good," and phorbe, "pasture or fodder," thus giving euphorbos the meaning "well fed." Some sources suggest that Juba was amused by the play upon words and chose his physician's name for the plant because of its succulent nature and because of Euphorbus' corpulent physique. evansii (Kniphofia): named in honor of Maurice Evans (1854-1920), businessman, politician and plant collector. (Elsa Pooley) Fagelia (Fabaceae): named for horticulturist Caspar Fagelius. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Fagonia (Zygophyllaceae): named for the French botanist Guy-Crescent Fagon (1638-1718), chemist, patron of botany, chief physician to Louis XIV, professor of botany at the Paris Jardin du Roi, 1671-1708, and from 1699 to 1718 its director.(CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Falkia (Convolvulaceae): honors botanist Johan Peter Falk (1733-1774), traveller and pupil of Linnaeus. Fallopia (Polygonaceae): named for the Italian anatomist Gabriele Falloppio (1523-1562), professor of anatomy at Padua, discovered the tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus. Fanninia (Apocynaceae): commemorates the Irish
botanist George Fox Fannin (1832-1865) , plant collector and farmer
(died Natal). Faurea (Proteaceae): honors the South African botanist William Caldwell Faure (1822-1844), soldier and naturalist, died at an early age. Felicia (Asteraceae): named by A.H.G. de Cassini in 1818 after Herr Felix, a German official at Regensburg who died in 1846. It has also been suggested that the generic name could be derived from the Latin felix meaning cheerful, a reference to the bright flowers, or that it might have been named for the Italian Fortunato Bartolomeo de Felice (1723-1789). Ferraria (Iridaceae): commemorates the Italian botanist Giovanni Battista Ferrari (1584-1655), entered the Jesuit order in Rome in 1602, was a professor of Hebrew and Rhetoric at the Jesuit College in Rome, and held a position as horticultural advisor to the papal family. Ficinia (Cyperaceae): named for the German botanist Heinrich David Auguste Ficinus (1782-1857). Finckea (Ericaceae): ??? Fingerhuthia (Poaceae): dedicated to the German botanist and physician Karl Anton Fingerhuth (1798-1876). Fintelmannia (Cyperaceae): ??? Flacourtia (Flacourtiaceae): named for botanist and traveller Étienne de Flacourt (1607-1660), Director of the French East India Company. Flanagania (Apocynaceae): see following entries. flanaganiae (Impatiens): the species name, "flanaganiae," was named after a Mrs. H.G. Flanagan (nee Florence Reynolds), the lady who discovered it in the Eastern Cape. See following entry. flanaganii (Greyia): the species was named after Henry George Flanagan (1861-1919), a South African-born collector and traveller. Flanagan also owned Prospect Farm in the Komga District of Eastern Cape, where he developed a noteworthy garden containing rare exotics as well as South African trees and shrubs. (PlantzAfrica) Flemingia (Fabaceae): named for the English botanist and physician John Fleming (1747-1829), member of the Indian Medical Service in Bengal and Fellow of the Royal and Linnaean Societies. There are also genera Flemingia in the Acanthaceae and Rubiaceae families, but not in South Africa. Fleurya (Urticaceae): dedicated to the French plant collector Francis Fleury (1882-1919) who died during an expedition to India and Malaya. Flueggia (Phyllanthaceae): named for the German physician and cryptogamic botanist Johann Fluggé (1775-1816). Fockea (Apocynaceae): commemorates either: (1) the German physician Gustav Waldemar Focke, doctor, plant physiologist, and author (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names); or (2) Charles Focke (1802-1856), a Dutch botanist (Eggli & Newton) Forbesia (Hypoxidaceae): ??? Forsskaolea (Urticaceae): honors the Finnish-born Swedish botanist Pehr Forsskål (1732-1763), traveller, plant collector and pupil of Linnaeus. Forsstroemia (Leptodontaceae): named for the Swedish
pastor and collector Johan Erik Forsström. Frankenia (Frankeniaceae): named after Johan Frankenius (1590-1661), sometimes written as Franke or Franckenius or Franck, professor of anatomy, medicine and botany at Uppsala, Sweden, and the first writer on Swedish plants, author of Speculum botanicum, and a colleague of Linnaeus. Freesia (Iridaceae): named after F.H.T. Freese (died 1876), a German physician from Kiel and a pupil of Ecklon. (PlantzAfrica) Freylinia (Scrophulariaceae): honors Count L. de Freylino. The Count owned a famous garden in Buttigliera near Marengo in Italy in the early 19 th century. (PlantzAfrica) friderici-huilielmi (Encephalartos):
named and described in 1834 by Professor Johann Georg Christian Lehmann
of Hamburg in honor of Friedrich Wilhelm, King of Prussia, who was a
patron of botany. Friesodielsia (Annonaceae): commemorates the Swedish botanist Elias Magnus Fries (1794-1878), one of the founders of taxonomic mycology, and German botanist Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (1874-1945). Frithia (Aizoaceae): named after Frank Frith (1872-1954), a railway services gardener stationed at Park Station, Johannesburg, who took the specimens to Brown at Kew while on a visit to London. (PlantzAfrica) Fuirena (Cyperaceae): honors the Danish botanist and physician Jørgen Fuiren (1581-1628), traveller through-out Scandinavia, pupil of (Gaspard?) Bauhin. Gaillardia (Asteraceae): this genus is named for the French magistrate Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th century patron of botany, naturalist, and amateur botanist. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Gaillonia (Rubiaceae): dedicated to the French algologist François Benjamin Gaillon (1782-1839). Galenia (Galeniaceae): for the Greek or Roman (?) Claudius Galen, c. 130-200 AD, one of the most eminent physicians of his age and a prolific writer on medicine. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Galinsoga (Asteraceae): named after the Spanish botanist Mariano Martinez Galinsoga (d. 1797), physician and superintendent of the Madrid Botanical Gardens. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Galpinia (Lythraceae): named for Ernest Edward Galpin (1858-1941), a South African botanist and banker. He left some 16,000 sheets to the National Herbarium in Pretoria and was dubbed "the Prince of Collectors" by General Smuts. Galpin discovered half a dozen genera and many hundreds of new species. Numerous species are named after him such as Acacia galpinii, Bauhinia galpinii, Cyrtanthus galpinii, Kleinia galpinii, Kniphofia galpinii, Streptocarpus galpinii and Watsonia galpinii. He is commemorated also in the genus Galpinia as is his farm in the genus Mosdenia. galpinii (Vernonia): see previous entry. The type specimen was collected from Saddleback Mountain near Barberton in Mpumalanga. Galtonia (Hyacinthaceae): the genus is named after Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), who published a book on his travels in South Africa, but is better known for his founding work on fingerprints, eugenics and biometrics. Gardenia (Rubiaceae): honors the English-born American botanist and physician Alexander Garden (1730-1791), correspondent of Linnaeus and Fellow of the Royal Society. gardenii (Clivia): named after soldier-naturalist Maj. Robert Garden who was stationed in Kwa-Zulu Natal. (Elsa Pooley) Gazania (Asteraceae): the generic name, Gazania, was given in honor of Theodor of Gaza (1398–1478). He was responsible for the translation of the botanical works of Theophrastus from Greek into Latin. (PlantzAfrica) Geigeria (Asteraceae): after a Professor Geiger of Heidelberg. Genlisea (Lentibulariaceae): named for Stéphanie Félicité Ducrest de Saint-Aubin, Comtesse de Genlis (1746-1830). Gerardia (Scrophulariaceae): named for the British physician John Gerard (1545-1612). Gerardiina (Scrophulariaceae): ??? Gerbera (Asteraceae): named by Jan Gronovius in 1737 for the Gerber brothers, Fr. Gerber, who collected plants in the West Indies, and Traugott Gerber, a German medical doctor and naturalist, and the curator of the oldest botanical garden in Moscow. In spite of extensive investigations, no link or reason has been found for the choice of their name for the genus. (PlantzAfrica) Gerdaria (Scrophulariaceae): ??? Gerrardanthus (Cucurbitaceae): honors William Tyrer Gerrard (?-1866), British botanical collector in Natal and Madagascar. Gerrardina (Flacourtiaceae): see previous entry. gibsonii (Nerine): the specific epithet 'gibsonii' commemorates a Mr. L.F. Gibson of Engcobo in the former Transkei region of South Africa, who first collected this species in the mid 1950s. (PlantzAfrica) Girardinia (Urticaceae): ??? Gisekia (Gisekiaceae): commemorates the German botanist Paul Dietrich Giseke (1741-1796), pupil of Carolus Linnaeus. Gleditsia (Fabaceae): named after the German botanist Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch (Gleditsius) (1714-1786). Gleichenia (Gleicheniaceae): dedicated to the German botanist and microscopist Wilhelm Friedrich von Gleichen-Russworm (1717-1783). Glekia (Scrophulariaceae): honors the German apothecary and botanical collector Georg Ludwig Engelhard Krebs (1792-1844), naturalist at the Cape. gordonii (Hoodia): discovered by Paterson and Col. R.F. Gordon in December, 1778, in the Upington area. Mr. Francis Masson, a famous botanist, named this plant Stapelia gordonii with the specific epithet named after Gordon. In 1830 the genus was later transferred by Sweet into the genus Hoodia, which was named in honor of Van Hood, a keen succulent grower. (PlantzAfrica) Gorteria (Asteraceae): named after the Dutch botanist David de Gorter (1717-1783), physician, plant collector, professor of medicine who studied medicine with Linnaeus, physician of the empress Elizabeth the Great of Russia. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Gottschea (Schistochilaceae): ??? greatheadii (Aloe): named for Dr. John Baldwin
Smithson Greathead (1854-1910), South African surgeon, game hunter,
naturalist and photographer, collected the first specimen with Selmar
Schönland during their hunting expedition to Botswana. greenii (Haworthia): for C.G. or G.H. Green (fl. 1880). (Eggli & Newton) Grevillea (Proteaceae): named for the English horticulturist Charles Francis Greville (1749-1809), who introduced and grew many rare plants 14 of which were illustrated in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, Fellow and Vice-President of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, member of Parliament and a Lord of the Admiralty. Grewia (Tiliaceae): this large genus is named after the English botanist and physiologist Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712), a physician and microscopist, Fellow of the Royal Society, a pioneer in exploring the physiology of plants, and one of the founders of the science of plant anatomy. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Greyia (Greyiaceae): named in honor of Sir George Grey (1812-1898), who was the governor of South Australia, the Cape Colony and New Zealand in the second part of the 19th century. He was also a great patron of botany and an explorer. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Grimmia (Grimmiaceae): named after the German physician and botanist Dr. J.F.K. Grimm of Gotha (died 1821) (Bryophyte Flora of North America) Grisebachia (Ericaceae): honors the German botanist August Heinrich Rudolph Grisebach (1814-1879), who was a phytogeographer (i.e. a person who studies the geography of plant distribution), plant collector and taxonomist, professor of botany, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, and Director of of the Botanical Garden of Göttingen. Grossera (Euphorbiaceae): named for botanist Wilhelm Carl Heinrich Grosser (1869- ?). Grubbia (Grubbiaceae): honors the Swedish botanist Michael Grubb (1728-1808), minerologist, traveller and botanical collector at the Cape. Guatteria (Annonaceae): the name of this very large genus commemorates the Italian botanist Giovanni Battista Guatteri (1743 or 1739-1793), professor of botany, and founder of the New Botanical Garden of Parma. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Guettarda (Rubiaceae): named for the French physician, naturalist, botanist and minerologist Jean Étienne Guettard (1715-1786). Guibourtia (Fabaceae): honors the French pharmacologist Nicholas Jean Baptiste Gaston Guibourt (1790-1861). Guilandina (Fabaceae): dedicated to the 16th century Prussian naturalist and scholar Melchior Guilandinus, traveller, botanist, professor at the University of Padua and Praefectus of the Botanical Garden there. Guilleminea (Amaranthaceae): named for French botanist Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin (1796-1842), traveller and author. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Gunnera (Gunneraceae): honors the Norwegian clergyman and botanist Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1718-1773), Bishop of Trondheim, Norway, founder of the Norwegian Royal Society and publisher of Flora norvegica. Gussonia (Orchidaceae): dedicated to the Italian
botanist Giovanni Gussone (1787-1866). Hackelochloa (Poaceae): named for the Bohemian-born Austrian botanist Eduard Hackel (1850-1926), an agrostologist and high school teacher. Hainardia (Poaceae): the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names says, "presumably after P. Hainardi, a Swiss phytogeographer." Hakea (Proteaceae): named for the German promoter of botany Baron Christian Ludwig von Hake (1745-1818). Halleria (Scrophulariaceae): named after the Swiss botanist Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777), physician, poet, experimental physiologist, professor of botany at Göttingen and founder of the Göttingen University herbarium. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Hallia (Fabaceae): honors the Swedish botanist and physician Birger Mårten Hall (1741-1841). Hallianthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the English gardener Harry Hall (1906-1986), collector of succulent plants, worked at Kew Gardens 1930-1933, Curator of the Darrah Cactus Collection at Manchester 1933-1947, and horticulturist at the famed Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden at Cape Town 1947-1968. He was a major explorer of Euphorbias in South Africa. He was awarded a Fellow of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America in 1981. The CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names adds this fascinating (if true) footnote, that he died by hanging in South Africa, but Professor Len Newton has informed me that he died of natural causes. Hammeria (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the American pianist, horticulturist and Mesemb specialist Steven A. Hammer, foremost authority on and monographer of the genus Conophytum. Harrisia (Cactaceae): named for the Irish botanist William H. Harris (1860-1920), gardener and plant collector, student of the flora of Jamaica, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, and from 1908 to 1917 the Superintendent of the Public Gardens and Plantations in Jamaica. Hartogia (Celastraceae): honors the German plant collector and gardener Johan Hartog (1663-1722), worked in Sri Lanka and Cape Town. There is also a fairly large genus Hartogia in the Rutaceae family in South Africa. Hartogiella (Celastraceae): see previous entry. Hartwegia (Orchidaceae): after the German botanist Karl Theodore Hartweg (1812-1871), botanical explorer and plant collector in North, Central and South America. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Harveya (Scrophulariaceae): named for the Irish-born botanist William Henry Harvey (1811-1866), algologist and pioneer of South African systematic botany, Colonial Treasurer-General of the Cape Colony, Keeper of the herbarium at Trinity College, Dublin, professor of botany to the Royal Dublin Society and at Trinity College, Dublin, Fellow of the Linnaean and Royal Societies, co-author with Dr. O.W. Sonder of Hamburg of the first three volumes of Flora capensis from 1860-1865. harveyana (Gymnosporia): the name 'harveyana' honors the renowned botanist William Henry Harvey (1811-1866), who was born in Ireland, the youngest of eleven children. He came to the Cape when he was 23 years old and stayed about four years before he returned to Ireland. See also previous entry (PlantzAfrica) Haumaniastrum (Lamiaceae): named for Belgian botanist Lucien Hauman (1880-1965). Haworthia (Asphodelaceae): the genus is named after the English entomologist, botanist and authority on succulents and Lepidoptera, Adrian Hardy Haworth (1768-1833). haworthii (Senecio): this plant was originally described by esteemed plantsman-botanist Adrian Haworth in 1803 as Cacalia tomentosa, the specific epithet 'tomentosa' referring to the hairy, fleshy, cylindrical leaves. The name was later changed to Senecio haworthii in honor of Haworth. Hebenstretia (Scrophulariaceae): named after Johann Christian Hebenstreit (1720-1791), a professor of medicine at Leipzig and also of botany at St Petersburg. (PlantzAfrica) Hedwigia (Burseraceae): honors the German botanist and physician Johann Hedwig (1730-1799). Heeria (Anacardiaceae): honors the Swiss paleobotanist and entomologist Oswald von Heer (1809-1883), zoologist, biologist, theologist, traveller and plant and insect collect, director of the botanic gardens in Zurich, professor of botany and entomology at the University of Zurich. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Heimia (Lythraceae): dedicated to the German physician Ernst Ledwig Heim (1747-1834), student of mosses. Heinsia (Rubiaceae): this genus was named for the Dutch philologist Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655). Hellmuthia (Cyperaceae): ??? helmutii (Lithops): for Helmut E. Meyer, horticulturist at Stellenbosch University Botanic Garden. (Eggli & Newton) Herbertus (Herbertiaceae): ??? Hereroa (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the Herero people, Bantu speakers of southwestern Africa. Hermannia (Sterculiaceae): honors the German-born Dutch botanist Paul Hermann (1646-1695), herbalist, professor of botany at Leyden, traveller and explorer in Africa, India and Sri Lanka, plant collector at the Cape. Herrea (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after the German botanist and horticulturist Adolar Gottlieb Julius Hans Herre (1893-1979). Herreanthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): see previous entry. Herschelia (Orchidaceae): named for the English astronomer Sir John Frederick William Herschel (1792-1871) who named the seven then-known moons of Saturn and the four then-known moons of Uranus. He was the son of the famous astronomer Sir William Herschel 1738-1822) who discovered the planet Uranus. "In 1833 Herschel travelled to South Africa in order to catalogue the stars, nebulae, and other objects of the southern skies.[2] This was to be a completion as well as extension of the survey of the northern heavens undertaken initially by his father William Herschel. He arrived in Cape Town on 15 January 1834. Amongst his other observations during this time was that of the return of Comet Halley. However, in addition to his astronomical work, this voyage to a far corner of the British empire also gave Herschel an escape from the pressures under which he found himself in London, where he was one of the most sought-after of all British men of science. While in southern Africa, he engaged in a broad variety of scientific pursuits free from a sense of strong obligations to a larger scientific community. It was, he later recalled, probably the happiest time in his life." (from Wikipedia) Herschelianthe (Orchidaceae): see previous entry. Hertia (Asteraceae): honors German physician Joannes Casimirus Hertius. Hessea (Amaryllidaceae): named either for botanical traveller Paul Hesse or Christian Henrich Friedrich Hesse (1772-1837), a Lutheran minister who came to Cape Town from Hanover and grew succulents. ?? Hewittia (Convolvulaceae): honors the English zoologist John Hewitt (1880-1961), a naturalist who was from 1905 to 1908 the Curator of the Sarawak Museum, and from 1910 to 1958 the Director of the Albany Museum in Grahamstown, the second oldest museum in southern Africa. Heywoodia (Euphorbiaceae): named for a Mr. A.W. Heywood, who was Conservator of Forests in the Transkei region of South Africa and author of Cape Woods and Forests. Hiernia (Scrophulariaceae): named for the British botanist and plant collector William Philip Hiern (1839-1925), Fellow of the Linnaean and Royal Societies. Hilleria (Phytolaccaceae): honors the German botanist Matthaeus Hiller (1646-1725), professor at the University of Tübingen. Hirschfeldia (Brassicaceae): named after the German horticulturist Christian Caius Lorenz Hirschfeld (1742-1792). Hoffmannseggia (Fabaceae): named after the German botanist Johann Centurius, Count Von Hoffmansegg (1766-1849), entomologist, ornithologist, a traveller and co-author of a flora of Portugal entitled Flore portugaise. Holmskioldia (Verbenaceae): honors the Danish botanist and physician Theodor Holm (Holmskjold) (1732-1794). Holubia (Pedaliaceae): named after Dr. Emil Holub (1847-1902), author, physician, naturalist and traveller in southern Africa. There is also a genus Holubia in the Gentianaceae family named for the same individual, but it is not present in southern Africa. Hoodia (Apocynaceae): different sources say that this was named either for a Mr. Van Wood, fl. 1820's, a cultivator of succulent plants, or for a surgeon (possibly Dr. William Chamberlain Hood, 1790-1879) who lived in South Lambeth, London, and collected succulents, probably the latter (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Hookeriopsis (Pilotrichaceae): ??? horsfallii (Eulophia): the specific epithet 'horsfallii' honors the nineteenth century British horticulturist Mr. T.B. Horsfall, who cultivated and flowered the type material of this species, collected in West Africa, in his glasshouse in England, and which was beautifully illustrated in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1865. (PlantzAfrica) Hoslundia (Lamiaceae): was named for the Danish botanist Ole Haaslund-Schmidt (Smith) (d. 1802), a naturalist. traveller and plant collector in Ghana. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Hottonia (Scrophulariaceae): honors the Dutch botanist and physician Pieter Hotton (1648-1709), professor of botany and member of the Royal Society of London. Hugonia (Linaceae): commemorates a certain Augustus Johannes Hugo (?-1753). Humea (Asteraceae): named after Lady Amelia Hume (1751-1809), an English amateur botanist. Huperzia (Lycopodiaceae): honors the German botanist
and physician Johann Peter Huperz (1771-1816), a fern horticulturist.
Huttonaea (Orchidaceae): named for the collector of the type specimen, Mrs. Henry Hotton, a plant collector in South Africa. Hyacinthus (Hyacinthaceae): named after Hyacinth, in mythology a youth much beloved of Apollo, who was accidentally struck by a discus thrown by Apollo and killed. Supposedly, Apollo and the wind god Zephyrus had a sort of rivalry for Hyacinth's affections, and it was Zephyrus who blew the discus off course, resulting in Hyacinth's death. In grief Apollo caused the hyacinth flower to rise from the youth's blood. Ibbetsonia (Fabaceae): ??? Ihlenfeldtia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after German botanist Dr. Hans-Dieter Ihlenfeldt (1932- ), Professor of Botany at Hamburg, who conducted succulent plant research in South Africa. Imperata (Poaceae): named after Ferante Imperato (1550-1625), an Italian apothecary and author of Dell'historia naturale. Inezia (Asteraceae): honors the South African botanist and plant collector Inez Clare Verdoorn (1896-1989), co-author of Wildflowers of the Transvaal. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Ingenhoussia (Fabaceae): ??? Iphigenia (Colchicaceae): named after Iphigeneia, in Greek mythology the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Iris (Iridaceae): named for the Greek goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. Jacksonago (Fabaceae): ??? Jacobsenia (Mesembryanthemaceae): commemorates the German horticulturist and botanist Hermann Johannes Heinrich Jacobsen (1898-1978), specialist in succulent plants, author of many books on succulents, and Curator of the Kiel Botanical Garden. Jacquesfelixia (Poaceae): honors the French botanist Henri Jacques-Félix (1907- ), explorer and plant collector in West Africa. Jacquemontia (Convolvulaceae): named for the French naturalist Victor V. Jacquemont (1801-1832), explorer, plant collector, botanist, made collections for the Royal Museum of Paris. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) "Born in Paris on August 8, 1801, the youngest of four sons of Venceslas Jacquemont and Rose Laisné, Victor Jacquemont was one of the rising stars of French natural history in the 1820's and an archetype for the scientist in the Romantic era. Combining youth, genius, and a rhapsodic love of nature with a life filled with masculine affection, star-crossed romance, and exotic climes, Jacquemont epitomized the romantic intellectual right up to the time of his untimely death in the Himalayas. In a career in which ill fortune and good fortune walked hand in hand, the figure of Jacquemont has all but overshadowed his substantial scientific accomplishments. The surviving correspondence of the ill-starred French botanist, Victor Jacquemont and his friend, Pierre Achille Marie Chaper (1795-1874) consists of 106 letters pertaining to the development of Jacquemont's scientific career and their personal and social commitments." (website of the American Philosophical Society) Jaegerina (Pterobryaceae): ??? Jamesbrittenia (Scrophulariaceae): was named after James Britten, a British botanist (1846-1924). Jamesoniella (Jungermanniaceae): named as is genus Jamesonia for Scottish botanist William Jameson (1796-1873)."William Jameson was born in Edinburgh in 1796 and studied at Edinburgh's Royal College of Surgeons ca. 1814-1818. Between 1818 and 1826, he made several voyages as a ship's surgeon, first to Baffin's Bay and later to South America. In 1826 he settled in Quito, Ecuador, and in the following year he was appointed professor of chemistry and botany at the University there. He was made assayer to the mint in 1832 and director in 1861. In 1869 he went back to Edinburgh (by way of Argentina) to visit his sons, and returned to Ecuador in 1872. He died shortly thereafter. Jameson carried out botanical investigations at Baffin's Bay, in Ecuador, and in other South American countries; corresponded with Scottish and English botanists; sent plant specimens back to Great Britain (possibly elsewhere?); and published articles in a half dozen British and Scottish botanical journals. In 1864 he was appointed by the Ecuadorean government to write a flora of Ecuador. Volumes 1 and 2 of his Synopsis Plantarum Aequatoriensium (in Spanish) were published in 1865, but the work was not completed. [The British Museum has the text of the unpublished 3rd volume, p. 1-136; the U.S. Department of Agriculture Library has a Photostat of this.] Jameson apparently also continued his studies of chemistry, as one would expect from his position as assayer to the mint. The biographical sources consulted did not mention any correspondence with chemists or any publications on chemistry, but the Gray Herbarium archives contain what appears to be a manuscript for a text on chemistry, probably never published." (Harvard University) jamesonii (Gerbera): the species was named after Robert Jameson who collected live specimens while on a prospecting expedition to the Barberton district in 1884, even though the species had been collected on three earlier occasions by other people. Jaumea (Asteraceae): commemorates the French botanist Jean Henri Jaume Saint-Hilaire (1772-1845). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Jensenia (Pallaviciniaceae): ??? Jensenobotrya (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after a certain Mr. Emil Jensen (1889-1963), a farmer and amateur botanist who had emigrated to Namibia from Germany. Jordaaniella (Aizoaceae): was named for Professor Pieter Gerhardus Jordaan (1913-1987), Professor of Botany at the University of Stellenbosch in 1984 and a specialist in the Proteaceae. josephinae (Brunsvigia): the specific name 'josephinae' was named in honor of the Empress Josephine, Napoleon's first wife. (PlantzAfrica) josephinae (Felicia): named after Dr Josephine (Jo) Beyers, assistant curator of the Compton Herbarium. (PlantzAfrica) Julbernardia (Fabaceae): honors a Mr. Jules Bernard, a former governor of Gabon. Jumellea (Orchidaceae): dedicated to the noted French botanist Henri Lucien Jumelle (1866-1935), plant physiologist and plant collector in West Africa and Madagascar, Director of the Musée Colonial of Marseille. Jungermannia (Jungermanniaceae): after Ludwig Jungermann (1572-1653), a professor of botany in Giessen and Altdorf bei Nürnberg. junodii (Monodora): the specific epithet honors Rev. Henri Alexandre Junod (1863–1934), a missionary stationed for much of his career at Shiluvane in Limpopo Provinc . His collection of plants from there, the lowveld of Mpumalanga and parts of Mozambique, is an important early historical record of the flora of these areas. (PlantzAfrica) Juratzkaea (Stereophyllaceae): ??? Juttadinteria (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after Mrs. Jutta Dinter, wife of German botanist and explorer Moritz Kurt Dinter. juttae (Cyphostemma): named for Jutta Dinter, the wife of professor K. Dinter, one of the authors. Kaempferia (Zingiberaceae): honors German physician Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716), traveller, naturalist, 1685-1693 East India Co., secretary of the Swedish embassy to Russia, and physician to the Count of Lippe. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Kamiesbergia (Amaryllidaceae): possibly referring
to the Kamiesberg Mountains and not to a person. Kaulfussia (Asteraceae): after German botanist Georg Friedrich Kaulfuss (1786-1830), author and professor of botany. Keetia (Rubiaceae): honors the South African botanist and plant collector Dr. Johan Diederik Möhr Keet (1882-1967), former Director of Forestry. Kensitia (Mesembryanthemaceae): commemorates the South African botanist Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus (née Kensit) (1877-1970), daughter-in-law of Harry Bolus. Kickxia (Scrophulariaceae): named after the Belgian botanist Jean Kickx (Sr.) (1775-1831), apothecary, professor of botany, pharmacy and minerology at a medical school in Brussels, and was the author of Flora bruxellensis, published in Brussels in 1812. Kiggelaria (Flacourtiaceae): named after the Dutch botanist Franz Kiggelaer (1648-1722?), traveller, plant collector, curator of Dutch plant collector Simon van Beaumont's garden. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Kindbergia (Brachytheciaceae): ??? Kirkia (Simaroubaceae): named in honor of Sir John Kirk (1832-1922), a famous Scottish explorer and a naturalist, physician, keen botanist, companion to David Livingstone, and British administrator in Zanzibar. (PlantzAfrica and Wikipedia) Klattia (Iridaceae): honors the German botanist Friedrich Wilhelm Klatt (1825-1897), a high school teacher in Hamburg. Kleinia (Asteraceae): the genus is named after the distinguished German scientist Dr. Jacob Theodor Klein (1685-1759), taxonomist, zoologist, botanical collector and member of the Royal Society of London. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Klingia (Amaryllidaceae): honors Erich Kling (d. 1892), traveller, explorer, naturalist in West Africa, Army officer, and plant collector. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Kniphofia (Asphodelaceae): named for J.H. Kniphof (1704-1763), a professor of medicine at Erfurt University in Germany. (PlantzAfrica) Knowltonia (Ranunculaceae): named in honor of horticulturist Thomas Knowlton (1691-1781), an English botanist and Curator of the Botanic Garden at Eltham. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Kobresia (Cyperaceae): named for the Austrian botanist Paul von Kobres (1747-1823), plant collector, patron and promoter of botany. Kochia (Chenopodiaceae): honors the German botanist and physician Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch (1771-1849), professor of botany at Erlangen. Koeleria (Poaceae): named for the German botanist and physician Georg Ludwig Koeler (1765-1807), pharmacologist and author. Kohautia (Rubiaceae): named after plant collector Franz Kohaut (?-1822). Kolleria (Aizoaceae): ??? Kosteletzkya (Malvaceae): honors the Czech botanist and physician Vincenz Franz Kosteletzky (1801-1887), professor of botany. Kotschya (Fabaceae): dedicated to the Austrian
botanist Carl Georg Theodor Kitschy (1813-1866), traveller and plant
collector, botanical explorer in the Orient, and Curator of the Herbarium
of the Vienna Natural History Museum. Kraussia (Rubiaceae): honors the German botanist and traveller Christian Ferdinand Friedrich von Krausse (1812-1890), zoologist and plant collector in South Africa, associated with Stuttgart Natural History Museum. kraussianus (Tapinanthus): see previous entry. kraussii (Gerbera): G. kraussii was first collected ‘near Pietermaritzburg' by Christian Krauss, a prolific collector of plants in South Africa, between 1838 and 1840. kraussii (Juncus): this plant was named after Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss (1812-1890), a German naturalist and museum keeper who traveled to South Africa. (PlantzAfrica) Krebsia (Apocynaceae): honors the German apothecary and botanical collector Georg Ludwig Engelhard Krebs (1792-1844), naturalist at the Cape. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) krebsiana (Gazania): see previous entry. krookii (Helichrysum): named for Swedish botanist P. Krook. Kyllinga (Cyperaceae): honors the Danish botanist Peder Kylling (c.1640-1696), apothecary and author. Labourdonnaisia (Sapotaceae): named for the French Count Bertrand François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, Governor of Mauritius, and a patron of botany. Lachenalia (Hyacinthaceae): commemorates the Swiss botanist Professor Werner de Lachenal (1739–1800) who was stationed at the University of Basel during the late 18th century. Laggera (Asteraceae): after the Swiss physician and botanist Dr. Franz Josef Lagger (1802-1870). Lamarckia (Poaceae): named for the great French scientist Jean Baptiste Antoine Pierre de Monnet de Lamarck (1744-1829), biologist, naturalist, paleontologist, conchologist, botanist at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, professor of zoology at the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, author of Flore françoise and Philosophie Zoologique. Lancisia (Asteraceae): commemorates the Italian clinician Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654-1720), professor of anatomy and medicine, epidemiologist, and physician to Popes Innocent XI, Innocent XII, and Clement XI. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Landolphia (Apocynaceae): named after Jean Francois Landolphe (1747-1825), commander of an expedition to the Niger delta. Landtia (Asteraceae): named for Jergen Landt, author of A Description of the Faroe Islands. Lapeirousia (Iridaceae): dedicated to the French botanist and minerologist Philippe Picot de Lapeyrouse, Baron de Bazus (1744-1818), professor of natural history at Toulouse University. Laportea (Urticaceae): possibly named for the English-born French naturalist François Louis Nompar de Caumat de Laporte Castelnau (1810-1880), entomologist, plant collector in Florida and South America, spent a couple of years at the Cape, then was French Consul in Australia. Larochea (Crassulaceae): ??? Launaea (Asteraceae): named after French lawyer Jean Claude Mien Mordant de Launay (c.1750-1816). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Laurembergia (Haloragaceae): named after the German botanist Peter Lauremberg (1585-1639). Laurentia (Lobeliaceae): honors either the 17th century Italian physician and botanist Marco Antonio Laurenti, professor of medicine and philosophy at Bologna University, or the French botanist Jean Laurent. Lavatera (Malvaceae): named after the Lavater brothers, Johann Heinrich (1611-1691) and Johann Jacob? (1594-1636), Swiss physicians and naturalists. Lavrania (Apocynaceae): honors the plant collector John J. Lavranos. Lebeckia (Fabaceae): genus named by Thunberg after a Mr. H.J. Lebeck, botanist, traveller and plant collector. Lecomptedoxa (Sapotaceae): named after the French botanist Paul Henri Lemcomte (1856-1934). Ledebouria (Hyacinthaceae): honors the German botanist Carl Friedrich von Ledebour (1785-1851), professor of botany, traveller and plant collector. Ledermanniella (Podostemaceae): named for the Swiss horticulturist Carl Ludwig Ledermann (1875-1958), traveller and explorer, plant collector in West Africa. Leersia (Poaceae): commemorates the German botanist and apothecary Johann Georg Daniel Leers (1727-1774). lehmannii (Encephalartos): this cycad is named in honor of Professor J.G.C. Lehmann, a nineteenth century German botanist who described several cycad species in 1834 and established the genus Encephalartos. (PlantzAfrica) Leipoldtia (Mesembryanthemaceae): commemorates the South African physician Christiaan Frederik Louis Leipoldt (1880-1947), poet and writer, editor of the South African News, traveller and plant collector. Lespedeza (Fabaceae): named for patron of botany
Vincente Manuel de Céspedes, Spanish Governor of Eastern Florida.
Letestuella (Podostemaceae): named for French Colonial Administrator Georges Marie Patrice Charles Le Testu (1877-1967). Leysera (Asteraceae): named for the German botanist Friedrich Wilhelm von Leysser (1731-1815). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Lichtensteinia (Apiaceae): named after the German zoologist and botanist Martin Heinrich Karl von Lichtenstein (1780-1857), naturalist, traveller, surgeon, director of the Zoological Garden in Berlin, author, botanical explorer in the Cape, and friend of Poleman (see Polemannia). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Lidbeckia (Asteraceae): honors the Swedish botanist Eric Gustav Lidbeck (1724-1803), professor of natural history. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Lightfootia (Campanulaceae): commemorates the British botanist Reverend John Lightfoot (1735-1788), conchologist and lichenologist, Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the original Fellows of the Linnaean Society, author of Flora scottica. There is also a genus Lightfootia in the Rubiaceae, but not in South Africa. Lindernia (Scrophulariaceae): named for the German botanist and physician Franz Balthazar von Lindern (1682-1755). Lindneria (Hyacinthaceae): I have encountered references that say that this genus is named either after a Paul Lindner (1861-1945) or a Dr. E. Lindner, but David Hollombe has provided me with a source that gives a Mr. O. Lindner of Brussels as the individual honored with the name, probably Otto Lindner (1852-1915) German-born agent for Leopold II of Belgium. Lindsaea (Dennstaedtiaceae): named for the Jamaican botanist John Lindsay (1785-1803), correspondent of Sir Joseph Banks and author. Linociera (Oleaceae): named for the 16th century French physician and botanist Geoffroy Linocier, author of Histoire des Plantes. [Now in genus Chionanthus] Lintonia (Poaceae): named for a Mr. A. Linton, a plant collector in East Africa. David Hollombe sent me the following from Veterinary Medicine: A Guide to Historical Sources By Pamela Hunter: The type of Lintonia was collected at Nairobi, most likely by "Andrew Linton of Gilmanscleugh, Selkirk, agriculturalist in the late nineteenth century before appointment at the School of Agriculture in Cairo, He appears to have worked as Director of Agriculture at government farms in Nairobi and Naivasha in the East Africa Protectorate during the early 1900's. He also researched, wrote and corresponded about veterinary medicine and animal disease. Linton died in 1951." Lippia (Verbenaceae): honors the French-born Italian naturalist Augustinus Lippi (1678-1709), botanist, physician and traveller, botanical collector in Egypt, murdered in Abyssinia. Littonia (Colchicaceae): dedicated to the Irish physician Samuel Litton (1781-1847), professor of botany at Dublin and librarian of the Royal Dublin Society. Lobelia (Lobeliaceae): named for the Flemish botanist Mathias de L'Obel (1538-1616), traveller, plant collector, physician to William, Prince of Orange, and botanist and physician to King James I of England. Lochnera (Apocynaceae): named after the German botanist Michael Friedrich Lochner von Hummelstein (1662-1720), physician and writer. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Loddigesia (Fabaceae): honors the English botanist Conrad L. Loddiges (1738-1826), horticulturist, gardener and nurseryman, introduced many new American species to Great Britain. Loeseneriella (Celastraceae): named for the German botanist Ludwig Eduard Theodor Loesener (1865-1941). Loethainia (Fabaceae): ??? Loudetia (Poaceae): possibly named for a certain Dr. Loudet, a German dentist? Luckhoffia (Apocynaceae): commemorates the South
African botanical artist Carl August Lückhoff (1914- Lüderitzia (Malvaceae): ??? Ludwigia (Onagraceae): named for the German botanist and physician Christian Gottlieb Ludwig (1709-1773), a plant collector and professor of medicine at Leipzig, went on an expedition to North Africa. Lumnitzera (Combretaceae): honors the Hungarian botanist and physician István Lumnitzer (1750-1806). Lysimachia (Primulaceae): named for Lysimachos, King of Thrace. Macadamia (Proteaceae): named for the Australian chemist John Macadam (1827-1865). Macfadyena (Bignoniaceae): after the Scottish botanist Dr. James Macfadyen (1798 [or 1800]-1850), physician, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, and author of the incomplete Flora of Jamaica. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Mackaya (Acanthaceae): named for the Scottish botanist and gardener James Townsend Mackay (1775-1862), first curator of the Trinity College Dublin Botanic Garden from 1804 until his death, and author of Flora Hibernica. mackenii (Cyrtanthus): the species name 'mackenii' honors Mark J. McKen, a pioneer collector in KwaZulu-Natal, who became the first curator of the Durban Botanic Garden in 1851. (PlantzAfrica) Maclura (Moraceae): honors the Scottish-born North American geologist William Maclure (1763-1840), agriculturist, traveller, one of the founders and then President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. macmasteri (Cyrtanthus): named after the amateur botanist Cameron McMaster for his invaluable contributions to the Eastern Cape flora. Cameron McMaster did the follow-up work to locate where the species grew and obtained specimens, so the necessary documentation could be done for verifying and naming this rarely seen species. Macowania (Asteraceae): see following entry. macowanii (Buxus, Cyrtanthus, Leucadendron): the species name 'macowanii' honors Dr. Peter MacOwan (1830-1909), one of the first professors of botany in Cape Town, Director
of the Cape Town Botanic Gardens, later Professor of Botany at the South African College, and Government Botanist in charge of the
Herbarium until 1905. He collected a specimen of Leucadendron macowanii in the Wynberg area in the southwestern
Cape around 1883. Mahernia (Malvaceae): an inexact anagram of Hermannia (see Hermannia). Mannia (Simaroubaceae): named for the German botanist Gustav Mann (1836-1916), Kew gardener, plant collector, botanical explorer, 1863-1891 Indian Forest Service, 1859-1862 on William Balfour Baikie's Niger expedition. Marattia (Marattiaceae): named for the Italian botanist Giovanni Francesco Maratti (1723-1777), clergyman and professor at Rome University. Marchantia (Marchantiaceae): ??? Markhamia (Bignoniaceae): named for the British traveller Sir Clements Robert Markham, botanist, geographer, explorer, plant collector, 1844-1851 in the Royal Navy, president of the Royal Geographical Society and introducer of Cinchona into India, fellow of the Linnaean Society, fellow of the Royal Society, played an active role in preparations for Scott's Discovery voyage 1901-1904 and the expedition of 1910-1912. Marlothia (Rhamnaceae): named for the South African botanist Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth (1855-1931), pharmacist, chemist, botanical explorer and plant collector. marlothii (Aloe): see previous entry. Marlothistella (Mesembryanthemaceae): see previous entry. Marsdenia (Apocynaceae): named for the Irish-born British traveller and plant collector William Marsden (1754-1836), numismatist, British East India Co. Marsilea (Marsileaceae): honors the noted Italian botanist and naturalist Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (Marsigli) (1658-1730), mycologist, traveller, Fellow of the Royal Society. Martynia (Pedaliaceae): commemorates London physician and botanist John Martyn (1699-1768), professor of botany at Cambridge, Fellow of the Royal Society, founded the Botanical Society of London. masoniorum/masonorum (Crocosmia): the species is named in honor of the Edwardian artist, Marianne Mason and her brother Edward Mason, of St. Bede's College in Umtata, who collected the species in 1911. Plants were cultivated at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden the following year from corms brought to Britain by Marianne Mason. (PlantzAfrica) masoniorum (Nerine): see previous entry. Massonia (Hyacinthaceae): dedicated to British gardener Francis Masson (1741-1805), plant collector for Kew Gardens, traveller to the Cape, Canary Islands and Azores, West Indies, North America and North Africa. Explored with Thunberg, sent specimens to Joseph Banks, Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Mastersiella (Restionaceae): dedicated to the English botanist and physician Maxwell Tylden Masters (1833-1907), Fellow of the Linnaean and Royal Societies. matthewsii (Lachenalia): the species is named after Mr. J.W. Mathews, the first Curator of Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, who discovered this species in 1923. Matthiola (Brassicaceae): named for the Italian botanist and herbalist Pietro Andrea Gregorio Mattioli (c.1500/1501-1577), physician to Maximilian II and to Ferdinand I of Austria. Maughaniella (Mesembryanthemaceae): apparently named for a certain Dr. H. Maughan Brown. maughamii (Balanites): named in honor of R.C.F. Maugham, the British Consul at Lourenco Marques (now Maputu), who sent specimens of this tree to Kew in 1911. (PlantzAfrica) maughanii (Haworthia): named for Dr. Herbert Maughan Brown (fl. late 1920's-1930's), South African physician and plant collector. (Eggli & Newton) Mauhlia (Agapanthaceae): named for a patriotic Swede and zealous promoter of natural science named Mauhle. Maurocenia (Celastraceae): according to the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names, "presumably honoring the Venetian Senator G.F. Morosini (1658-1739), a patron of botany." Melpomene (Grammitidaceae): in mythology, Melpomene was a songstress and the muse of tragedy. She was the daughter of Zeus and her sisters included Calliope (muse of poetry), Clio (muse of history), Euterpe (muse of flute playing), Terpsichore (muse of dancing), Erato (muse of erotic poetry), Thalia (muse of comedy), Polyhymnia (muse of hymns), and Urania (muse of astronomy). Merciera (Campanulaceae): Alphonse De Candolle named the genus in honor of the botanist Phillip Mercier in 1830. (PlantzAfrica) Mercurialis (Euphorbiaceae): presumably for the god Mercury. Merremia (Convolvulaceae): honors the German naturalist and botanist Basius Merrem (1761-1824), mathematician and professor of political economy at Marburg. Merwilla (Hyacinthaceae): this genus has been named after F. van der Merwe, a botanist who worked on this family. (PlantzAfrica) Merxmuellera (Poaceae): refers to the German botanist Hermann Merxmüller (1920-1988). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Metzgeria (Metzgeriaceae): ??? Metzleria (Dicranaceae): ??? meyeri (Herreanthus): for Louis G. Meyer (1867-1958), German clergyman, explorer, and plant collector in South Africa. (Eggli & Newton) Meyerophytum (Mesembryanthemaceae): honors a particular German missionary named G. Meyer who was a traveller, plant collector and botanical explorer in Namibia. Mielichhoferia (Mniaceae): named for the Austrian botanist Mathias Mielichhofer (1772-1847). Mikania (Asteraceae): named after the Bohemian botanist Joseph Gottfried Mikans (1743-1814). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Milicia (Moraceae): named for a certain Mr. Milicia, an administrator in Mozambique. Millettia (Fabaceae): named after Charles Millet of the East India Company in Canton, China (1792-1873). Moenchia (Caryophyllaceae): dedicated to the German botanist and pharmacist Conrad Moench (1744-1805), chemist, professor of botany at the Collegium Medicum Carolinianum at Kessel, and founder of the Marburg Botanic Garden. Mohria (Anemiaceae): honors the German botanist Daniel Matthias Heinrich Mohr (1780-1808), professor of philosophy at Kiel, plant collector and author. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Monniera (Scrophulariaceae): ??? Monsonia (Geraniaceae): named for Lady Ann Monson (née Vane) (c.1714-1776), great-granddaughter of Charles II, botanical collector at the Cape and in Bengal, and correspondent of Linnaeus. Montbretia (Iridaceae): named for the French botanist Antoine François Ernest Coquebert de Montbret (1781-1801), with Napoleon in Egypt 1798. Montinia (Montiniaceae): honors the Swedish botanist and physician Lars Jonasson Montin (1723-1785), botanical collector and pupil of Linnaeus. moorei (Crinum): Crinum moorei was described by 19th century botanist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, while he was director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in London. According to Verdoorn (1961) his description was based on plants grown by Dr. David Moore (1838-1879), after whom he named it. Dr. Moore, director of the Glasnevin Botanical Gardens in Dublin, received the seed from a British soldier named Webb who collected it in KwaZulu-Natal during the 1860's. (PlantzAfrica) "David Moore's contribution to the Gardens, to its plant collections and to its reputation nationally and internationally is unsurpassed. His interests and abilities were wide ranging; he had studied the flora of Antrim and Derry, fungi, algae, lichens, bryophytes, ferns and flowering plants, before taking up his post at Glasnevin. While at Glasnevin he developed links with Botanic Gardens in Britain, in Europe and in Australia (his brother Charles became Director at Sydney). Moore used the great interest in plants that existed among the estate owners and owners of large gardens in Ireland to expand trial grounds for rare plants not expected to thrive at Glasnevin. The collections at Kilmacurragh, Headford and Fota, for example, attest to this. It was David Moore who first noted potato blight in Ireland at Glasnevin on 20th August 1845 and predicted that the impact on the potato crop would lead to famine in Ireland. He continued to investigate the cause of the blight and correctly identified it as a fungus but narrowly missed finding a remedy. David Moore was succeeded by his son Frederick, who was made Curator at the age of twenty-two. Some of the gardening establishment figures of the day were sceptical that such a young man would be up to the job. Frederick Moore soon justified his appointment and went on to establish Glasnevin as one of the great gardens of the world. In due course he was knighted for his services to horticulture." (website of Glasnevin Botanical Garden) Moquinia (Loranthaceae): named for the French botanist Christian Horace Bénédict Alfred Moquin-Tandon (1804-1863), naturalist, pupil of A.P. de Candolle, Director of the Botanic Garden of Toulouse 1834-1853, professor of botany at the Faculté de Médecine at Paris, and one of the founders of the Société Botanique de France. Moquiniella (Loranthaceae): see previous entry. Moraea (Iridaceae): the name Morea was originally intended by Philip Miller to commemorate the British amateur botanist and natural historian Robert More (1703-1780), traveller, friend of Linnaeus, and Fellow of the Royal Society of London, but apparently he changed the name to honor Dr. Johan Moraeus, the town physician of Falun and father of Sara Elizabeth Moraea, wife of Linnaeus. Mossia (Mesembryanthemaceae): honors the British botanist Charles Edward Moss (1870-1930), Curator of the Cambridge Herbarium, professor of botany, plant collector and botanical explorer, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, died in South Africa. mostertii (Ixia): named after Louis Mostert, a keen and interested landowner in the Wolseley area. (PlantzAfrica) Muiria (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the Scottish naturalist and physician John Muir (1874-1947), plant collector at the Cape, died in South Africa. muirii (Salvia): the first collection of plants of Salvia muirii was made in 1915 by Dr. John Muir, an enthusiastic plant collector who lived in the southern Cape and who contributed greatly to our knowledge of the plants of this area. (PlantzAfrica) Mundia (Polygalacaee): honors Johannes Ludwig Leopold Mund (1791-1831), a Prussian pharmacist and plant collector who arrived in the Cape in 1815. [Now in genus Nylandtia] mundii (Scolopia): see previous entry. Muraltia (Polygalaceae): named for the Swiss surgeon and botanist Johannes von Muralt (1645-1733), anatomist, professor of medicine at Zürich. Murdannia (Commelinaceae): honors the Indian plant collector Murdann Ali, keeper of the Herbarium at Saharanpur Botanic Garden and expert on Himalayan flora. nebrownii (Lithops olivaceae var. nebrownii): named for Nicholas Edward Brown (1849-1934), a taxonomist based at Kew Herbarium. "Nicholas Edward Brown was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents, Asclepiadaceae, Mesembryanthemaceae, Labiatae and Cape plants. He started work as an assistant in the Herbarium at Kew in 1873, and was Assistant Keeper from 1909-1914. His drawings of succulent plants were made in connection with his revision of the genus Mesembryanthemum, which appeared in 1931, and are accompanied by detailed annotations. He was the author of important works on plant taxonomy particularly succulent plants. He was awarded the Capt. Scott Memorial Medal by the South African Biological Society in recognition of his work on South African flora, and in 1932 an honorary D.Sc. was conferred on him by the University of the Witwatersrand. His publications appeared mainly in the Kew Bull. and in Flora Capensis." (Wikipedia) Neesenbeckia (Cyperaceae): named for the German botanist and physician Christian Gottfried Nees von Esenbeck (1776-1858), professor of botany and botanical collector. Negria (Gesneriaceae): named for the Italian geographer and politician Cristoforo Negri (1809-1896). Nelia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after the South
African botanist Gert Cornelius Nel (1885-1950), plant collector and
cactus specialist, professor of botany at Stellenbosch University 1921-1950. Nelsonia (Acanthaceae): named for David Nelson, botanist on the infamous voyage of Captain Bligh's Bounty, a gardener at Kew Gardens who was employed by Joseph Banks to collect specimens. He was also an assistant botanist on Captain Cook's third and last voyage 1776-1780. Neobakeria (Hyacinthaceae): named for the British botanist John Gilbert Baker (1834-1920), botanical collector at the Herbarium of Kew Gardens, Fellow of the Royal and Linnaean Societies. Neoboivinella (Sapotaceae): honors the French botanist Louis Hyacinthe Boivin (1808-1852), traveller and plant collector. Neobolusia (Orchidaceae): see Bolusanthus. Neodregia (Colchicaceae): after C. F. Drège, an apothecary and plant collector in the area around Port Elizabeth. Neohenricia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the Swiss plant physiologist Marguerite Gertrude Anna Henrici (1892-1971), plant collector. Neoluederitzia (Zygophyllaceae): named for Franz Adolph Eduard Lüderitz (1834-1896), brother of botanical collector August Lüderitz. Neomuellera (Lamiaceae): named for the Swiss botanist Jean Mueller (1828-1896), Curator of the Candolle herbarium 1851-1869, Curator of the B. Delessert herbarium 1869-1896, Director of the Genève Botanic Garden, professor of botany 1871-1889. Neopatersonia (Hyacinthaceae): honors Mrs. Florence Mary Paterson (née Hallack) (1869-1936), botanical collector, wife of Mr. T.V. Paterson of South Africa. Neorosea (Rubiaceae): named for the 19th century German apothecary Valentin Rose. Neptunia (Fabaceae): named after Neptune, in Roman mythology the god of water, then after his identification with Poseidon in Greek mythology became the god of the sea. Nerine (Amaryllidaceae): named after Nerine, in mythology a sea-nymph or nereid, daughter of Doris and Nereus, and granddaughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Nesaea (Lythraceae): in Greek mythology, Nesaea or Nesaie was a sea nymph, one of the Neriads. Nestlera (Asteraceae): honors the Alsatian botanist Chrétien Géofroy Nestler (1778-1832), professor of botany and pharmacy. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Neumannia (Flacourtiaceae): named for French gardener J.H.F. Neumann (1800-1858). Nevillea (Restionaceae): named for Neville Pillans, see entries for pillansii. Newtonia (Fabaceae): commemorates Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Nicandra (Solanaceae): honors the Greek botanist and physician Nikander of Colophon (c.100-150 AD), poet and medical writer. Nicolasia (Asteraceae): named for Kew Gardens botanist Dr. Nicholas Edward Brown (1849-1934), see nebrownii. Nicolsonia (Fabaceae): commemorates a certain Père Nicolson, an 18th century Dominican priest. Nicotiana (Solanaceae): dedicated to the French diplomat Jean Nicot (1530-1600), ambassador to Portugal, introduced tobacco into France and Portugal. Niebuhria (Capparaceae): honors the German-born Danish botanist Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815), traveller and explorer, sole survivor of Pehr Forsskål's expedition to Arabia, member of the Royal Society of Göttingen. Nierembergia (Solanaceae): commemorates the Spanish Jesuit Juan Eusebio Nieremberg (1595-1658). Nivenia (Iridaceae): named after James (David) Niven (c. 1774-1826/1827), an avid gardener and plant collector. The seed of N. corymbosa was collected by Niven on one of his journeys to Cape Town, and the seed was raised in the garden of his patron, George Hibbert, in Clapham, London. Plants flowered there for the first time in 1805 and were described as Witsenia corymbosa. (PlantzAfrica) Niven was gardener at the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh and at Syon House, Middlesex. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Nolletia (Asteraceae): honors the French clergyman Jean Antoine Nollet (1700-1770), the first professor of experimental physics at the University of Paris. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) "He constructed one of the first electrometers and developed a theory of electrical attraction and repulsion that supposed the existence of a continuous flow of electrical matter between charged bodies." (Answers.com) Noltea (Rhamnaceae): named after the German botanist
and physician Ernst Ferdinand Nolte (1791-1875), professor of botany
at the University of Kiel. Nuxia (Buddlejaceae): was named in honor of M. de la Nux, a French amateur botanist on Reunion Island. (PlantzAfrica) Nylandtia (Polygalaceae): this plant was first described as Polygala spinosa by Linnaeus in 1751 and 1753. The Belgian botanist, Barthelemy Dumortier (1822) recognized that this species belongs to a genus different from Polygala and named it Nylandtia in honor of Pierre Nylandt, a Dutch botanist. (PlantzAfrica) Nymania (Meliaceae): this genus was named after the Swedish botanist Carl Fredrik Nyman (1820-1893). There is also a genus Nymania in the Euphorbiaceae family named for the same botanist but it does not appear in South Africa. Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae): in Greek mythology nymphaia referred to a water nymph. oatesii (Erica): named after naturalist and traveller Frank Oates (1840-1875). (Elsa Pooley) obermeyerae (Hemizygia): the species name 'obermeyerae' commemorate Miss Amelia Obermeyer (later to become Mrs. Amelia Mauve), a botanist at the National Herbarium, Pretoria, who first collected this plant in 1931. The plant was described by Ashby in the Journal of Botany (London) in1935. (PlantzAfrica) Oberonia (Orchidaceae): named after Oberon, the mythological King of the Fairies and husband of Titania. obrienii (Cyrtanthus): Odyssea (Poaceae): named for Odysseus also known as Ulysses. Ohlendorffia (Scrophulariaceae): ??? Oldenburgia (Asteraceae): named after Franz Pehr Oldenburg (1740-1774), plant collector for Kew Gardens, and a companion of the botanists Thunberg and Masson on their travels to South Africa. Oldenburg died of fever in Madagascar in 1774. (PlantzAfrica) Oldenlandia (Rubiaceae): named for the Danish botanist and physician Henrik Bernard Oldenland (c.1663-1699), naturalist and plant collector at the Cape, Curator-Superintendent of the Botanical Garden of the Dutch East India Company. Olinia (Oliniaceae): honors the Swedish botanist Johan Henrik Olin (1769-1824), student of Thunberg and author. Oliverella (Loranthaceae): dedicated to the British botanist Daniel Oliver (1830-1916), worked at the Kew Herbarium, professor of botany at University College, London, Fellow of the Royal and Linnaean Societies. Orphium (Gentianaceae): named for the mythological Orpheus, a Greek poet and musician, and one of the Argonauts. Osmunda (Osmundaceae): uncertain attribution. Ottosonderia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the German botanist and pharmacist Otto Wilhelm Sonder (1812-1881), botanical explorer and plant collector, co-author with William H. Harvey of the first three volumes of Flora capensis. Pagella (Crassulaceae): honors the English botanical artist Mary Maud Page (1867-1925), botanical explorer and plant collector, associated with the Bolus Herbarium at the University of Cape Town, died in South Africa. Palmstruckia (Scrophulariaceae): named for the Swedish botanical artist Johan Wilhelm Palmstruch (1770-1811). Pancovia (Sapindaceae): dedicated to a certain Thomas Panckow (1622-1665), author of Herbarium portatile. Pandorea (Bignoniaceae): commemorates Pandora, according to Greek mythology the first mortal woman sent to earth. Pappea (Sapindaceae): named after a German physician and plant collector Carl Pappe (1803-1862). He studied medicine and botany at Leipzig before moving to Cape Town in 1831, initially practising as a doctor. He was the first colonial botanist and South Africa's first professor of botany, 1858, and he was an international government adviser on botanical issues. (Darwin Correspondence Online Database) patersonii (Erica): named in honor of Lieutenant William Paterson (1755-1810) who made four collecting journeys into South Africa. He was sent by Sir Joseph Banks to make observations on the natural history of the land. (PlantzAfrica) Pauletia (Fabaceae): honors the French botanist and physician Jean Jacques Paulet (1740-1826), mycologist and author. Paullinia (Sapindaceae): named for Simon Paulli (1603-1680), professor of botany, physician to King Christian V of Denmark. Pavonia (Malvaceae): honors the Spanish botanist José Antonio Pavón y Jiménez (1754-1844), traveller and explorer, was with Joseph Dombey in Chile and Peru. Pearsonia (Fabaceae): dedicated to the English
botanist Henry Harold Welch Pearson, worked at the Cambridge Herbarium,
professor of botany at South African College, Cape Town, plant collector
and botanical explorer, founder of the Kirstenbosch National Botanic
Gardens, Fellow of the Linnaean and Royal Societies. Pechuel-Loeschea (Asteraceae): named for the German
naturalist and geographer M. Eduard Pechuël- Peddiea (Thymelaeaceae): honors the plant collector and soldier John Peddie (?-1840), sent South African plant specimens to William H. Harvey at Dublin. Peersia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the Australian botanist Victor Stanley Peers (1874-1940), collected succulents and other plants, died in Cape Town, South Africa. peersii (Pleiospilos): see previous entry. Peglera (Erythroxylaceae): named for plant collector
Alice Marguerite Pegler (1861-1929) who died in South Africa. Penaea (Penaeaceae): honors the French physician and botanist Pierre Pena (c. 1520/1535-1600/1605), assistant to Mathias de L'Obel, physician to Henri III. Pentzia (Asteraceae): named after Carolus Johannes Pentz, author of De Diosma. Pereskia (Cactaceae): named for the French numismatist Nicholas Claude Fabry de Peirese (1580-1637), patron of botany, naturalist and archeologist. petersiana (Senna): ? Peyrousea (Iridaceae): honors French navigator
Jean François de Galaup, Comte de la Pèrouse (1741- Phaenohoffmannia (Fabaceae): named for the German botanist Heinrich Karl Hermann Hoffmann (1819-1891), mycologist, plant geographer, professor of botany, Director of the Botanic Garden at Giessen. Phelypaea (Scrophulariaceae): named for the French politician Louis Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain (1643-1727). Philippia (Ericaceae): honors the German botanist Rudolph Amandus Philippi (1808-1904), traveller, botanical explorer and plant collector, Director of the Museo Nacional de Chile, professor of botany and zoology at Santiago. Pillansia (Iridaceae): see following entries. pillansii (Gasteria): named by Harry Bolus and Louisa Kensit (better known as Louisa Bolus). It commemorates Mr. Neville S. Pillans, a botanist from the Bolus Herbarium who collected plants near Clanwilliam and grew this plant in his garden in Rosebank, Cape Town. (PlantzAfrica) Pisonia (Nyctaginaceae): dedicated to the Dutch physician and botanist Willem Piso (c.1611-1678), pharmacist, pioneer of tropical medicine. Pluchea (Asteraceae): honors the French abbot Noël-Antoine Pluche (1688-1761), seminary teacher and naturalist. The following is quoted from a website page on Pluche at The Online Library of Liberty: "Noël-Antoine Pluche was born in 1688. After completing his studies, he became a professor first of humanities, then of rhetoric in his hometown of Rheims, before taking holy orders. The Bishop of Laon made him director of the collège (secondary school), an offer he accepted partly to escape the controversy that arose around him for his refusal to swear adherence to the bull Unigenitus (1713). After a lettre de cachet was prepared against him, he was provided with private tutorial positions by both Gasville (royal intendant of Rouen) and the Englishman Lord Stafford. After a chance discovery of information useful to the Crown, he was offered a lucrative priory by Cardinal Fleury—which he refused on principle because of his continued refusal to sign Unigenitus. Still, his teachings and writings began to gain some notoriety. He became deaf, retired in 1749 to Varenne-Saint-Maur, and died of apoplexy in 1761. His major work, Spectacle de la nature, was an eight-volume study of life and creation that was translated into virtually all European languages, still appearing in abridged editions in the early nineteenth century. His other works include Histoire du ciel (1739), La Méchanique des langues (1751), and Concorde de la Géographie des différents âges (1765), as well as works on Holy Scripture and French royal coronation ceremonies." Plukenetia (Euphorbiaceae): dedicated to the British physician and botanist Leonard Plukenet (1642-1706). Podalyria (Fabaceae): named for Podalirius or Podaleirios, in Greek mythology the son of Asklepios, the god of healing. Poellnitzia (Liliaceae): named for German botanist Joseph Karl Leopoldt Arndt von Poellnitz (1896-1945), an agriculturist and specialist on succulent plants. Pohlia (Bryaceae): possibly named for the botanical artist Joseph Pohl (1864-1939). Poinciana (Fabaceae): possibly named for Louis
de Poinci, a patron of botany and French Governor in the West Indies. Polemannia (Apiaceae): after the German chemist Peter Heinrich Poleman (c. 1780-1839), an apothecary and naturalist who died at Cape Town. Polevansia (Poaceae): dedicated to the Welsh botanist Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans (1879-1968), mycologist, plant collector, traveller, Fellow of the Linnaean Society, Director of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 1918-1939. Polhillia (Fabaceae): named for a Dr. Roger Marcus
Polhill (1937- ), botanist at Kew Gardens and editor of Flora of Tropical East Africa 1966-1997. Polyxena (Hyacinthaceae): dedicated to the mythological daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Priam was the King of Troy during the Trojan War and was the father of Hector and Paris. Pontederia (Pontederiaceae): named for the Italian botanist and physician Giulio (Julius) Pontedera (1688-1757), plant collector, professor of botany at Padua, and Praefectus of the Botanical Garden of Padua. Popowia (Annonaceae): commemorates Johannes Siegmund
Valentin Popowitsch (1705-1774), professor of botany in Vienna. (CRC
World Dictionary of Plant Names) Pouzolzia (Urticaceae): named for the French botanist Marie Casimir de Pouzolz (1785-1858). Priestleya (Fabaceae): honors the noted English chemist Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), clergyman, philosopher, Fellow of the Royal Society, best known for his work on the chemistry of gases. Printzia (Asteraceae): named for Jacob Printz (1740-1779), pupil of Linnaeus, author of Plantae rariores africanae (1760), which described 100 South African plants, based on a collection sent from the Cape of Good Hope. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Puccinellia (Poaceae): named to honor the Italian botanist Benedetto Luigi Puccinelli, professor of botany, Director of the Botanical Garden of Lucca. Pueraria (Fabaceae): honors the Swiss botanist Marc Nicolas Puerari (1766-1845), teacher, pupil of Martin Vahl in Copenhagen. Putterlickia (Celastraceae): named for the Austrian
botanist and physician Aloys Putterlick (1810-1845), bryologist and
author, 1840-1845 in charge of the Natural History Museum of Vienna. Rabiea (Mesembryanthemaceae): named after the South African plant collector W.A. Rabie. radlkoferi (Greyia): the species name is derived from Ludwig Radlkofer (1829-1927), professor of botany and Director of the Botanical Museum in Munich, also an authority on the sexual and asexual reproduction of plants and author of Die Befruchtung der Phanerogamen (1856). The Swazi name means 'dassie's ear.' A dassie is a small African mammal in the order Hyracoidea, the closest living relative to the elephant. (PlantzAfrica) Radyera (Malvaceae): honors the South African botanist Robert Allen Dyer (1900-1987), Director of the Botanical Research Institute at Pretoria 1944-1963. Rafnia (Fabaceae): named for the Dutch botanist Carl Gottlob (1769-1808), school teacher and author. Randia (Rubiaceae): dedicated to the British botanist Isaac Rand (?-1743), apothecary, gardener, Fellow of the Royal Society. Raspalia (Bruniaceae): commemorates the French botanist François Vincent Raspail (1794-1878), politician, chemist, naturalist. Rauvolfia (Apocynaceae): named after the German
physician and botanist Leonhart Rauwolff (1535- Reichardia (Fabaceae): there is a genus Reichardia in the Asteraceae that is named after the German physician and botanist Johann Jacob Reichard (1743-1782), supervisor of the botanical garden and library of the Senckenberg Foundation in Frankfurt, but I'm not sure whether the genus Reichardia in the Fabaceae is named for the same individual. Relhania (Asteraceae): named for clergyman Rev. Richard Relhan (1754-1823), born at Dublin, a botanist, plant collector, bryologist, lichenologist, and one of the founders of the Linnaean Society. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Renauldia (Pterobryaceae): ??? Rendlia (Poaceae): named after the British botanist Alfred Barton Rendle (1865-1938), traveller and plant collector, Keeper of the Botany Department of the British Museum, Fellow of the Royal Society and President of the Linnaean Society. Rennera (Asteraceae): commemorates the German botanist Otto Renner (1883-1960), a professor of botany, traveller, and director of the Botanical Garden of Jena. "Otto Renner was a German plant geneticist, following the work of Erwin Baur, Renner established the theory of maternal plastid inheritance as a widely accepted genetic theory. Renner worked with plants from the genera Oenothera." (Wilipedia) Requienia (Fabaceae): honors the French botanist Esprit Requien (1788-1851), malacologist, traveller and botanical explorer, Director of the Botanical Garden of Avignon. Retzia (Stilbaceae): named for the Swedish botanist
Anders Jahan Retzius (1742-1821), lichenologist and bryologist, entomologist
and professor of natural history at the University of Lund. In addition
to these disciplines, he also did work on chemistry, zoology, minerology
and paleontology. Reyemia (Scrophulariaceae): named for Dr. Heinrich
Meyer who practiced medicine in Calvinia in the 1860's and collected
in the Hantam Mts which are in the Namaqualand region of the Northern
Cape Province. He came from Germany to the Cape in the mid-1860's, and
later practised medicine at Capetown in the 1880's. reynoldsii (Dierama): the specific epithet honors Dr G.W. Reynolds (1895–1967), who was an optician, and studied and cultivated plants, mostly aloes, in his spare time. In the course of gathering material for his two classic volumes (Reynolds 1950, 1966), he travelled some 40,000 km and collected numerous plants in addition to his aloe specimens. (PlantzAfrica) Reynoutria (Polygonaceae): uncertainly identified
as being named after a somewhat obscure Dutch or French botanist and/or
naturalist named either Reynoutre or van Reynoutre. Rhadamanthus (Hyacinthaceae): named after Rhadamanthus, in mythology the son of Zeus or Jupiter, and Europa, who was made the judge of souls in the underworld. Riccardia (Aneuraceae): ??? Richardia (=Zantedeschia) (Rubiaceae): see following entry. Richardsonia (Rubiaceae): named after the English botanist and physician Richard Richardson (1663-1741), lichen collector who studied under Boerhaave, book collector, Fellow of the Royal Society, friend of Sir John Franklin. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Rikliella (Cyperaceae): honors the Swiss botanist Martin Albert Rikli (1868-1951), plant geographer, traveller and botanical collector, Curator of the Botanical Museum of the E.T.H. Zurich (Eldgenössische Technische Hochschule, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Riocreuxia (Apocynaceae): after French artist Alfred Riocreux (1820-1912), a botanical illustrator. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Ritchiea (Capparaceae): dedicated to the British explorer and traveler Joseph Ritchie (?-1821), surgeon and plant collector in Africa. Rivina (Phytolaccaceae): named for the German botanist and physician Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (1652-1723), professor of botany and physiology. Robinia (Fabaceae): honors the French botanist Jean Robin (1550-1629), royal gardener and herbalist to King Henry IV of France, worked at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Rochea (Crassulaceae): named for the Swiss botanist
and physician Daniel de la Roche (1743-1813) and his son François
(1780-1813), botanist and physician. Roella (Campanulaceae): named after Wilhelm Roell, 18th century professor of anatomy in Amsterdam and horticulturist. Rogeria (Pedaliaceae): named after a Baron Jacques-Francois Roger du Loiret (died 1849), plant collector and governor of Senegal from 1821-1827. (Thanks to David Hollombe) Romulea (Iridaceae): named for the legendary Romulus, founder and first king of Rome. Rondeletia (Rubiaceae): honors the French physician and botanist Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566), zoologist and ichthyologist, professor of medicine. Roodia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the South
African plant collector Petrusa Benjamina Rood (1861-1946). Rosenia (Asteraceae): commemorates the Swedish physician and botanist Eberhard Rosén (1714-1796) and his brother Nils Rosén (1706-1773). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) rossii (Eriosema): named for botanist Dr. James Ross, who worked on the Fabaceae of S.A. (Elsa Pooley) Rothia (Fabaceae): named for the German botanist and physician Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757-1834). Rothmannia (Rubiaceae): named in honor of the Swedish botanist and physician Dr. Georg Rothman (1739-1778) by his friend Thunberg. Both were pupils of Linnaeus, and Rothmann was a traveller and plant collector in North Africa. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Rottboellia (Poaceae): commemorates the Danish botanist and physician Christen Friis Rottboell (1727-1797), traveler, pupil of Linnaeus, professor of medicine, Director of the Copenhagen Botanical Garden. rourkei (Leucadendron): for Dr. John P. Rourke, South African botanist at Kirstenbosch (Egglie & Newton), author of The Proteas of Southern Africa. Royena (Ebenaceae): named for the Dutch botanist and physician Adriaan van Royen (1704-1779), professor of botany and medicine, Director of the Botanic Garden at Leyden 1730-1754, friend of Linnaeus. royenii (Codon): the specific name
honors either David or Adriaan van Royen or both. They were Dutchmen
who associated with Carl Linnaeus during the latter's years in Holland.
(PlantzAfrica) Rumohra (Davalliaceae): named in honor of the German art expert and writer Karl Friedrich Ludwig Felix von Rumohr (1785-1843), patron of botany. Rungia (Acanthaceae): named for Friedlieb (Friedrich) Ferdinand Runge (1795-1867), a German analytical chemist, discoverer of caffeine and the blue dye aniline, and inventor of paper chromatography. Ruppia (Ruppiaceae): honors the German botanist Heinrich Bernard Ruppius (1688-1719), author of Flora jenensis. Ruschia (Mesembryanthemaceae): the genus name Ruschia, was named in honor of a Namibian farmer by the name of Ernst Julius Rusch (1867–1957). (PlantzAfrica) Ruschianthemum (Mesembryanthemaceae): see following entry. Ruschianthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): the monotypic genus Ruschianthus was named to commemorate Ernst Julius Rusch's son Ernst Franz Theodor Rusch (1897–1964). (PlantzAfrica) Ruspolia (Acanthaceae): named for the Italian explorer
Eugenio Ruspoli (1866-1893), ethnologist and naturalist, botanical and
zoological collector, killed by an elephant. Saelania (Ditrichaceae): ??? Saltera (Penaeaceae): named for the English botanist Terence Macleane Salter (1883-1969), traveler, at the Bolus Herbarium 1930-1960, plant collector in South Africa. Salvadora (Salvadoraceae): named for the Spanish apothecary and botanist Juan Sakvador y Bosca (1598-1681), plant collector. Salvinia (Salviniaceae): honors the Italian Antonio Maria Salvini (1633-1729), professor of Greek at Florence. Sandersonia (Liliaceae): named after the Scottish horticulturist John Sanderson (1820/1821-1881), botanical collector in South Africa, died in South Africa. Sanionia (Amblystegiaceae): ??? Sansevieria (Dracaenaceae): named after Count Pietro Antonio Sanseverino, an Italian patron of Horticulture in Naples. (Newton) saundersiae (Ornithogalum): the species epithet, 'saundersiae,' was named after Mrs Katharine Saunders (1824–1901), a well-known plant collector and artist. She sent bulbs of this species to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, in 1887. saundersii (Dermatobotrys): the
specific name comes from Sir Charles James Renault Saunders who collected
the plant in Zululand. Scaevola (Goodeniaceae): named to honor the Roman hero C. Mucius Scaevola, whose surname means "left-handed" from the Latin scaevus, "left." Actually 'Scaevola' was a sobriquet he received after he lost his right arm. Schefflera (Araliaceae): this large genus which has about 650 species was named in 1776 by J.R. and G. Foster in honor of botanist and physician Jakob Christoph Scheffler of Gdansk, Poland. (PlantzAfrica) schinzii (Acalypha): named for Hans Schinz (1858-1941), a Swiss botanist who collected in South Africa. (Elsa Pooley) Schkuhria (Asteraceae): honors German botanist Christian Schkuhr (1741-1811). The following was translated from a German website: "Christian Schkuhr was a trained gardener and later worked as a mechanic for the University of Wittenberg. Besides his occupation, he conducted botanical studies throughout his life. Not only did he learn to draw, to engrave and to use a microscope (using selfmade instruments) to publish his “Handbook of Botany,” he also learned how to print (cf. Boehmer’s epilogue for the first volume of the handbook with a rather detailed description of the author’s life). With his rather modestly equipped work, Schkuhr not only wanted to help plant lovers to get to know the names of native plants and plants introduced to the area by using Carl von Linné’s system, which by then had been accepted almost everywhere in Germany, but also wanted them to get familiar with the value of plants with regard to medicinal use, local economy and agriculture. At the same time, he regarded his handbook as a substitute for a so far non-existent guide to the flora of Wittenberg (cf. volume 1, p.3). The plant species were classified according to Linné’s system and very frequently Schkuhr placed several species next to each other, as was the case with the sweet vernal grass. He stated both the Latin and the German name of the species and gave a brief characterization of the plant and a detailed description and explanation of the figures on the table. Furthermore, Schkuhr gave anthesis, required location, and how widespread the species was, in particular its extent of occurance in and around Wittenberg, as well as the usefulness of the species and further particulars, such as color and smell, peculiar characteristics or anecdotes associated with the plant." Schlechteranthus (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the German botanist Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlecter (1872-1925), traveler and plant collector in Africa, assistant to Harry Bolus. schlecteri (Leucadendron): see previous entry. Schlechteria (Brassicaceae): see previous entry. Schlechterina (Passifloraceae): see previous entry. Schmidelia (Sapindaceae): honors the German physician Casimir Christoph Schmidel (1718-1792), naturalist, professor or medicine and pharmacology at the University of Bayreuth/Erlangen. Schmidtia (Poaceae): named after the German botanist Johann Anton Schmidt (1823-1905), professor of botany, traveler, plant collector. Schoenefeldia (Poaceae): honors the German botanist Wladimir de Schoenefeld (1816-1875), one of the founders of the Société Botanique de France. Schonlandia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the German botanist Seimar Schönland (1860-1940). schooneseeii (Aloinopsis): honors Mr. D.H. Schoonees (fl. 1931), a South African teacher. (Eggli & Newton) Schrebera (Oleaceae): honors the German botanist and zoologist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber (1739-1810), correspondent of Linnaeus. Schwabea (Acanthaceae): named after German botanist Samuel Heinrich Schwabe (1789-1875), pharmacist, astronomer, and member of the Royal Society of London. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Schwantesia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the German botanist Gustav Schwantes (1891-1960), archeologist and professor of pre-history. Schwetschkea (Leskeaceae): possibly after Carl August Schwetschke (1756-1839)? Searsia (Anacardiaceae): apparently named after the American plant ecologist Paul Bigelow Sears (1891-1990), professor of botany at Oberlin College, 1938-1950, and Chair of the Conservation Program, Yale University. Seemannaralia (Araliaceae): commemorates the German botanist and explorer Berthold Carl Seemann (1825-1871), naturalist, botanical collector, naturalist to the HMS Herald, editor of Bonplandia 1853-1862, editor of the Journal of Botany 1863-1869, author of The Botany of the Voyage of HMS Herald (1845-1851). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Seetzenia (Zygophyllaceae): named for German traveller Ulrich Jasper Seetzen (1767-1811), a naturalist and botanical collector. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) "His chief interests were in natural history and technology; he wrote papers on both these subjects which gained him some reputation, and had both in view in making a series of journeys through the Netherlands and Germany. He also engaged in various small manufactures, and in 1802 obtained a government post in Jever, however, the interest which he had long felt in geographical exploration culminated in a resolution to travel. In the summer of 1802 he started down the Danube with a companion Jacobsen, who broke down at Smyrna a year later. His journey was by Constantinople, where he stayed six months, thence through Asia Minor to Smyrna, then again through the heart of Asia Minor to Aleppo, where he remained from November 1803 to April 1805, and made himself sufficiently at home with Arabic speech and ways to travel as a native. Now began the part of his travels of which a full journal has been published (April 1808 to March 1809), a series of most instructive journeys in eastern and western Palestine and the wilderness of Sinai, and so on to Cairo and the Fayum. His chief exploit was a tour round the Dead Sea, which he made without a companion and in the disguise of a beggar. From Egypt he went by sea to Jidda and reached Mecca as a pilgrim in October 1809. In Arabia he made extensive journeys, ranging from Medina to Lahak and returning to Mocha, from which place his last letters to Europe were written in November 1810. In September of the following year he left Mocha with the hope of reaching Muscat, and was found dead two days later, having, it is believed, been poisoned by the command of the Imam of San‘a’. For the parts of Seetzen's journeys not covered by the published journal (Reisen, ed. Kruse, 4 vols, Berlin, 1854), the only printed records are a series of letters and papers in Zach's Monatliche Correspondenz and Hammer's Fundgruben. Many papers and collections were lost through his death or never reached Europe. The collections that were saved form the Oriental museum and the chief part of the Oriental manuscripts of the ducal library in Gotha." (Wikipedia) Seidelia (Euphorbiaceae): named for German botanist Christoph Friedrich Seidel (fl. 1869). Semonvillea (Molluginaceae): named for a Hyppolite Boisel, Baron de Monville (1794-1863), French amateur botanist and plant collector. Senebiera (Brassicaceae): honors the Swiss botanist Jean Senebier (1742-1809), bibliographer and linquist, clergyman, physiologist, librarian of the city of Genève. Serruria (Proteaceae): belongs to the protea family and was named in honor of J. Serrurier who was Professor of Botany at the University of Utrecht in the early eighteenth century. (PlantzAfrica) Shantzia (Malvaceae): named for the American botanist Homer LeRoy Shantz (1876-1958), traveler in Africa and plant collector. Sherardia (Rubiaceae): commemorates the British botanist William Sherard (1659-1727), plant collector in Greece and Asia Minor, founder of the Sherardian Chair of Botany at Oxford, pupil of Joseph Pitton de Tournefort and Herman Boerhaave, Fellow of the Royal Society, Shutereia (Convolvulaceae): ??? Sickmannia (Cyperaceae): named after the German
botanist Rudolph Sickmann (1779-1849). Silene (Caryophyllaceae): in Greek mythology, Silenus was a woodland deity, tutor and companion to Bacchus. Smithia (Fabaceae): dedicated to the British botanist and physician Sir James Edward Smith (1759-1828), Fellow of the Royal Society, a founder and first President of the Linnaean Society of London, prolific writer. Soliva (Asteraceae): honors the Spanish botanist and medical practitioner Salvador Soliva, 18th century physician to the Spanish court. Sonderina (Apiaceae): named after German botanist Otto Wilheml Sonder (1812-1881). (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Sonderothamnus (Penaeaceae): see previous entry. Sparrmannia (Tiliaceae): named for the Swedish botanist and physician Anders Sparrmann (1748-1820), traveler, pupil of Linnaeus, doctor on Cook's second expedition on the Resolution, was with Thunberg in South Africa. Spielmannia (Myoporaceae): honors the German botanist and physician Jakob Reinhold Spielmann (1722-1783), pharmacist and traveler. Sponia (Ulmaceae): the CRC World Dictionary of
Plant Names says, "Presumably after the French physician Jacob
(Jacques) Spon (1647-1685), traveler." Stadmannia (Sapindaceae): named after physician,
botanist and painter Jean Frederic Stadtmann (1762-1807). (David Hollombe) Stapelia (Apocynaceae): introduced by Linnaeus who described it in 1737. The name honors Johannes van Stapel, a 17th century physician and botanist who published drawings and descriptions of the first Stapeliae discovered (Orbea variegata). (PlantzAfrica) Stayneria (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the South African horticulturist Frank J. Stayner (1907-1981), specialist on succulent plants, assistant Superintendent of Parks in the Port Elizabeth Parks Department 1935-1946, Curator of the Karoo Botanic Gardens at Worcester 1959-1969. Stephania (Menispermaceae): named after Christian Stephan (1757-1814), professor of chemistry and botany at Moscow, Director of Forestry Institute at St. Petersburg. (Elsa Pooley) Sterculia (Malvaceae): apparently named after Sterculius, the Roman god of privies and manure. Steudelia (Molluginaceae): possibly named for German botanist and physician Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (1783-1856). Stirtonanthus (Fabaceae): ??? Stoeberia (Aizoaceae): named in 1927 by two German botanists, Kurt Dinter (1886-1945) and Gustav Schwantes (1881-?) to commemorate the late Mr. E. Stoeber from Luderitz. Stokoeanthus (Ericaceae): named for the English-born South African plant collector Thomas Pearson Stokoe (1868-1959). See also following entry. stokoei (Nivenia): Nivenia stokoei
was only properly documented in 1924, after it was collected by T.P
Stokoe (1868-1959), a Yorkshireman who emigrated to South Africa in
1911. Stokoe collected numerous specimens in the Kogelberg, many of
which were named after him, including the now extinct Mimetes stokoei.
His ashes are scattered near Stokoe's Bridge in the Kogelberg Reserve.
(website Cape Nature) His long career included both plant collecting
and mountaineering, and he discovered many high-altitude plants. streyi (Crassula): it was first collected by the German farmer and botanist R.G. Strey (1907-1988) of the Natal Herbarium and the National Botanical Research Institute in Durban and was named in his honor. (PlantzAfrica, Elsa Pooley) Sturmia (Orchidaceae): honors the German engraver Jacob Sturm (1771-1848), naturalist and botanical artist, who was also honored with genera named for him in the Rubiaceae and Poaceae. Suessenguthiella (Molluginaceae): commemorates the German botanist Karl Suessenguth (1893-1955), professor of botany at the University of München, Curator of the Botanische Staatssammlung (a natural history collection in Munich). Susanna (Asteraceae): named after Mrs. Susan Phillips, née Kriel, second wife to South African botanist Edwin Percy Phillips (1884-1967). Sutera (Scrophulariaceae): named for the Swiss
botanist and physician Johann Rudolf Suter (1766-1827), professor of
philosophy and Greek at Berne. sutherlandii (Greyia): the specific epithet honors Peter Cormack Sutherland (1822–1900), a medical doctor from Aberdeen, Scotland, who was the Surveyor-General of Natal in 1855; he made many plant collections during his term of office. He was also the first person to send specimens of the tree to England. (PlantzAfrica) Swartzia (Fabaceae): named after the Swedish botanist and physician Olof Peter Swartz (1760-1818). Swertia (Gentianaceae): honors the Dutch herbalist Emanuel Swert (1552-1612), florist, cultivator of bulbs, author. Synnotia (Iridaceae): named after the Irish plant collector at the Cape of Good Hope Captain Walter Synnot (1773-1851). Talbotia (Velloziaceae): dedicated to Patrick Henry Brabazon Talbot (1919-1979), a mycologist of Natal. Tavaresia (Apocynaceae): named for Portuguese naturalist Joaquim da Silva Tavares (1866-1931), clergyman, entomologist, and traveller. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Tayloria (Splachnaceae): ??? Teclea (Rutaceae): named after St. Takla Hemanout, son of an Ethiopian priest, a legendary protagonist of the Coptic Church, recognized as a saint. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Teedia (Scrophulariaceae): ??? Teucrium (Lamiaceae): possibly for Teucer, founder
of the town of Salamis on Cyprus. Theilera (Campanulaceae): named for English veterinarian and botanist Sir Arnold Theiler (1867-1936) who worked in South Africa. Theodora (Fabaceae): ??? Thorncroftia (Lamiaceae): named after the British
botanist, plant collector and merchant George Thorncroft (c. 1857-1934)
who died in the Transvaal. Thunbergia (Acanthaceae): the genus is named in honor of Swedish botanist and physician Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828) who travelled with ships of the Dutch East India Company and did extensive botanical exploration in southern Africa. He was a student of Linnaeus, a plant collector and explorer, and a professor of botany and medicine at Uppsala. He had several other genera named after him. Thunbergiella (Apiaceae): see previous entry. Tieghemia (Loranthaceae): named for the French botanist Philippe Édouard Léon van Tieghem (1839-1914), professor of botany. Tinnea (Lamiaceae): named after the Tinne family in Holland, specifically Harriet (Henrietta) Tinne, her sister Adrienne van Capellen and Harriet's daughter Alexandrine, who were patrons of botany in the 1800's, to commemorate a scientific expedition on the Nile in 1861 during which Harriet Tinne and her two daughters collected seed of T. aethiopica. Alexandrine was a Dutch explorer in Africa and the first European woman to attempt to cross the Sahara (PlantzAfrica and Wikipedia) Tithonia (Asteraceae): named for Tithonius, a young
man who was a favorite and companion of Aurora, the goddess of dawn. Todea (Osmundaceae): named for the German botanist Heinrich Julius Tode (1733-1797), clergyman, cryptogamist, author. Torenia (Scrophulariaceae): honors the Swedish
clergyman Rev. Olof Torén (1718-1753), traveller, botanist and
plant collector, ship's chaplain with the Swedish East India Company. Tradescantia (Commelinaceae): named for the British naturalist and botanist John Tradescant (1608-1662), traveller, plant collector in Virginia. Tragia (Euphorbiaceae): commemorates German botanist
and physician Hieronymus Bock (latinized name Hieronymus Tragus)
(1498-1554), teacher, herbalist author, Lutheran priest who began the
transition from medieval botany to the modern scientific worldview by
arranging plants by their relation or resemblance. The grass genus Tragus
was also named for him. Trieenea (Scrophulariaceae): named after Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen (1912- ), botanical collector and botanist at the Bolus Herbarium at the University of Cape Town. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Tritonia (Iridaceae): named for Triton, in mythology the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. Triumfetta (Tiliaceae): honors the Italian botanist Giovanni Battista Trionfetti (1658-1708). tuckii (Cyrtanthus): named for horticultural collector William Tuck 1824-1912) who introduced the navel orange to South Africa. (Elsa Pooley) tugwelliae (Cylindrophyllum): for Mrs. Anna M. Tugwell (fl. 1914-1929), plant collector in South Africa and old friend of Louisa Bolus. (Eggli & Newton) Tulbaghia (Liliaceae): named by Linnaeus after Ryk Tulbagh (died 1771), governor of the Cape of Good Hope with whom he corresponded. Turnera (Turneraceae): dedicated to the English botanist and physician Rev. William Turner (c.1508-1568), herbalist, naturalist and zoologist, clergyman and traveler. Turraea (Meliaceae): the CRC World Dictionary of
Plant Names says: "Origin not very clear, possibly after the Italian
botanist and physician Antonio Turra (1730-1796), minerologist, author
of Istoria del arbore della China" Vahlia (Vahliaceae): commemorates the Norwegian-born Dabish botanist Martin Vahl (1749-1804), traveler, pupil of Linnaeus, professor of botany. Vallisneria (Hydrocharitaceae): dedicated to the Italian physician and botanist Antonio Vallisnieri (Vallisneri), (1661-1730), naturalist, biologist, professor of medicine at the University of Padua, member of the Royal Society of London. Vallota (Amaryllidaceae): honors the name of French botanist and physician Antoine Vallot (1594-1671), personal physician to King Louis XIV of France and Director of Jardin du Roidirector of Jardin du Roi. vanbalenii (Aloe): honors J.C. van Balen, the former Director of the Park Department in Johannesburg, SA, who first collected this species. Vanheerdia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the South African teacher and school principal Pieter van Heerde (1893-1979). Vanwykia (Loranthaceae): named for the South African botanist Pieter van Wyck (1931- ), ecologist, biologist, plant collector, head of the Department of Research and Communication of the National Parks Board of South Africa. Vanzijlia (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for the South African Mrs. Dorothy Constantia van Zijl (1886-1938). Vellozia (Velloziaceae): dedicated to the Portuguese botanist Joaquim Velloso de Miranda (1733-1815), plant collector in Brazil. Veltheimia (Liliaceae): the genus is named in honor of a German patron of botany, August Ferdinand Graf von Veltheim (1741-1801). verdoorniae (Asphodelaceae): named for South African botanist Dr. Inez Clare Verdoorn (1896-1989). Vernonia (Asteraceae): derives its name from the English botanist and bryologist William Vernon (1666/1667-c. 1715), who collected plants in America and who died in 1711. (PlantzAfrica) Veronica (Scrophulariaceae): named in honor of Saint Veronica, one of the women who accompanied Christ to Calvary, and offered him a towel on which he left an imprint of his face. Vigna (Fabaceae): honors the Italian botanist Domenico Vigna (?-1647), professor of botany and Director of the Botanical Garden of Pisa. Villarsia (Menyanthaceae): named for the French botanist and physician Dominique Villars (1745-1814), professor of botany and medicine at the University of Strasbourg. villetii (Stomatium): named for Dr. A.C.T. Villet (fl. 1936-1956), a collector of succulents in South Africa. (Eggli & Newton) Virgilia (Fabaceae): given in honor of Virgil, the greatest of Roman poets. (PlantzAfrica) visseri (Freylinia): the species name refers to Mr. Floors Visser, who through his insight and actions, saved the plant from possible extinction. (PlantzAfrica) Vlokia/vlokii (Mesembryanthemaceae, Gasteria, Freylinia): named for Jan H.V. Vlok, active plant collector and Environmental Advisor to the Cape Department of Nature Conservation. He collected a specimen of Freylinia vlokii on the Rooiberg together with Mr. Mike Viviers. (PlantzAfrica) Vogelia (Plumbaginaceae): apparently named for the German botanist and plant collector Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel (1812-1841). vogtsiae (Protea): after Marie Vogts Neethling (1908-1998), a well-known and much respected South African protea specialist, author of the first popular book on the Proteaceae of South Africa. vogtsii (Aloe, Delosperma): after Mr. Lewis R. Vogts (fl. 1930), South African administrator and succulent plant horticulturist (Egglie & Newton). Volkiella (Cyperaceae): ??? Vossia (Poaceae): named either for the German poet Johann Heinrich Voss (1751-1826), known for translations of Homer, or the Dutch Gerhard Johann Voss (1577-1649), Dutch Humanist theologian and scholar. Wachendorfia (Haemodoraceae): the genus was named in commemoration of Evert Jacob van Wachendorff (1702-1758), a Dutch professor of medicine, botany and chemistry at Utrecht University. and one of the first directors of the Botanic Gardens of Utrecht. (PlantzAfrica) wageneri (Euryops): the species was named after G.E.H. Wagener, who collected the type specimen in the Matjiesrivier area in the Cederberg. (PlantzAfrica) Wahlenbergia (Campanulaceae): honors Swedish maturalist George Wahlenberg of Uppsala (1780-1851). Wahlenberg matriculated at Uppsala University in 1792, received his doctorate in medicine in 1806, was appointed botanices demonstrator in 1814, and professor of medicine and botany in 1829, succeeding Carl Peter Thunberg. He was the last holder of the undivided chair that in the previous century had been held by Linnaeus. After his death in 1851, the chair was divided into more delimited professorships, and botany became the main duty of the borgströmian professorship, at the time held by Elias Fries. Wahlenberg made his main work in the field of plant geography and published, among other things the Flora lapponica (1812) and other works on the plant world of northernmost Sweden. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) There is also a genus Wahlenbergia in the Rubiaceae family named for Wahlenberg but it does not appear in South Africa. Walafrida (Scrophulariaceae): named for the German monk Walahfrid Strabo (c.809-849), poet, politician and theologian, author of Hortulus. Walleria (Tecophilaeaceae): named for the British botanist Rev. Horace Waller (1833-1896), plant collector and missionary in Central Africa. Wallinia (Phytolaccaceae): ??? (Now in genus Lophiocarpus) Waltheria (Sterculiaceae): honors the German botanist and physician Augustin Friedrich Walther (1688-1746), professor of pathology and author. Warburgia (Canellaceae): named after Dr. Otto Warburg (1859-1938), who was born in Hamburg. He lectured in botany at the University in Berlin and was also the author of numerous botanical papers. (PlantzAfrica) Wardia (Wardiaceae): ??? Warneckea (Mrlastomataceae): named for the German plant collector Otto Warnecke, gardener in Togo. Watsonia (Iridaceae): named by Philip Miller of Chelsea after his friend Sir William Watson (1715–1787), a London physician apothecary, botanist and naturalist, fellow of the Royal Society. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Webera (Rubiaceae): named for the German physician and botanist Georg Heinrich Weber (1752-1828). Websteria (Cyperaceae): honors the American botanist and farmer George W. Webster (1833-1914). Wedelia (Asteraceae): commemorates the German physician Georg Wolfgang Wedel (1645-1731), botanist, professor of medicine at Jena and physician, defender of alchemy and astrology. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Weihea (Rhizophoraceae): named for the German botanist and physician Carl Ernst August Weihe (1779-1834), batologist (i.e. person who studies brambles). Weinmannia (Cunoniaceae): honors the German apothecary
and botanist Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683-1741). Welwitschia (Welwitschiaceae): W. mirabilis was discovered by the Austrian botanist, explorer and medical doctor Friedrich Welwitsch (?-1872) in 1859 in the Namib Desert of southern Angola. The story goes that he was so overcome by his find that he knelt down next to it and simply stared! Thomas Baines, the renowned artist and traveller, also found a plant in the dry bed of the Swakop River in Namibia in 1861. Welwitsch sent the first material of Welwitschia to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Director of Kew, in 1862. Hooker described it and named it in honor of Welwitsch, despite the fact that Welwitsch recommended that it be named Tumboa, its native Angolan name. (PlantzAfrica) Whiteheadia (Hyacinthaceae): named for the Anglican missionary Rev. Henry Whitehead (1817-1884), plant collector in South Africa. whitei (Mondia): named for A.S. White who was a farmer in Kwa-Zulu Natal around the 1860's. (Elsa Pooley) whyteana (Diospyros): the specific epithet 'whyteana' was named after the Scottish plant explorer Alexander Whyte. (PlantzAfrica) Wiborgia (Fabaceae): named for the Danish botanist Erik Nissen Viborg (1759-1822), professor of botany at the University of Copenhagen and Director of the Botanical Garden. wickensii (Aloe): after John Edward Wickens (1867-1949), British horticulturist. (Botanical Exploration of Southern Africa) Widdringtonia (Cupressaceae): named for Samuel Edward Widdrington (1787-1856), a Royal Navy commander, traveller in Spain, and conifer botanist of the late 1700's and early 1800's, who published a book on European pines. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Wiesneria (Alismataceae): honors the Austrian botanist Julius Ritter von Wiesner (1838-1916), professor of plant anatomy and physiology, and traveller in India, the Dutch East Indies and North America (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Wigandia (Hydrophyllaceae): named for the German author Johannes Wigand (1523-1587), Bishop of Pomerania. Willdenowia (Restionaceae): honors the German botanist
and physician Karl Ludwig Willdenow (1765-1812), naturalist, professor
of botany, Director of the Berlin Botanical Garden. A genus in the Rubiaceae
was also named for him. wilmsii (Kirkia): the species name 'wilmsii' comes from F. Wilms (1848-1919) who was a German apothecary (pharmacist), botanist and plant collector, residing in Lydenburg. (PlantzAfrica) Wimmerella (Lobeliaceae): ??? Wisneria (Alismaceae): named after a certain Wiesner, professor of botany in Vienna. wissii (Plumbago): Plumbago wissii was discovered in 1955 by a Namibian farmer and naturalist, Mr Hans-Joachim Wiss (1903–1991) whilst working on the Brandberg. He had an interest in archaeology. He collected the type specimen on Konigstein, the highest peak on the Brandberg. The plant was named by Friedrich in 1957. (PlantzAfrica) Withania (Solanaceae): the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names says: "According to many authors the genus was named possibly (misspelling included!) after the English paleobotanist Henry Thomas Maire Witham (1779-1844), geologist, author of Observations on Fossil Vegetables." Witsenia (Iridaceae): this first woody Iridaceae genus to be described was named Antholyza maura by Linnaeus in 1771. Its present name honors NicholasWitsen, an eighteenth century Dutch patron of botany. (PlantzAfrica) Wolffia (Lemnaceae): named after the German physician and botanist Johann Friedrich Wolff (1778-1806). Wolffiella (Lemnaceae): see previous entry. Woodia/woodii (Apocynaceae, Combretum, Encephalartos, Indigofera, Cryptocarya): named for Natal botanist John Medley Wood (1827-1915), curator of the Natal Botanic Garden 1882-1903 and founder and director of the Natal Herbarium 1903-1913. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) "John Medley Wood was a South African botanist who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Natal ferns, and is generally credited with the establishment of Uba sugar cane in Natal and for his extensive collection of Natal plants. Wood was born in Mansfield to a lawyer James Riddall Wood and Hannah Healy Weaver. His father remarried Mary Haygarth and emigrated to Durban, and John, who had spent seven years at sea after leaving school, joined him there in 1852. He soon acquired his own property at the mouth of the Umdhloti River north of Durban. Here he experimented with new crop plants. In 1855 he married his stepmother's younger sister Elizabeth Haygarth. For health reasons he moved further inland to Inanda in 1868, where he ran a trading store and did some farming. Here he developed an interest in cryptogams and started collecting ferns, mosses and fungi as well as flowering plants. He began corresponding with M.C. Cooke and Kalchbrenner, the mycologists at Kew and in Hungary. The Rev. John Buchanan, a local fern expert who had published a list of Natal ferns in 1875, assisted Medley Wood in that group. In 1880 Anton Rehmann, the Austrian botanist, visited Natal and took over Wood's collection of mosses. As a result of his growing interest in botany, he accepted the post of Curator of the Botanic Garden in Durban in 1882. From his interest in crop plants, he established the suitability of Uba sugar cane (Saccharum sinense), for conditions in Natal. During these years he collected plants extensively throughout Natal and exchanged duplicates with foreign herbaria. He was preparing the seventh volume of his Natal Plants at the time of his death in 1915. He is commemorated in the genera Woodia, Woodiella, and a large number of species names including that of Encephalartos woodii, which he first discovered in 1895 on a steep south-facing slope on the fringes of the Ngoye forest about 30 km from Mtunzini in KwaZulu-Natal.. (Wikipedia) Woodsia (Woodsiaceae): named after the English architect and botanist Joseph Woods (1776-1864), author and Fellow of the Linnaean Society. Wooleya (Mesembryanthemaceae): named for a certain Major C.H.F. Wooley. Wrightia (Apocynaceae): named after British botanist and physician William Wright (1735-1819), traveller, plant collector in Jamaica, and author of many botanical publications on Jamaican plants. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Wulfhorstia (Meliaceae): possibly for German missionary August Wulfhorst (1861- )? "He was a missionary of the Rheinische Missionsgesellschaft and came to Namibia in 1890. He established a mission station in Ondjiva (today Angola) in September 1891, together with Rhenish Missionary Meisenholl, then at Omupanda in 1892. From 1919 to 1927, Wulfhorst was stationed in Karibib. He was married to Thusnelda Wulfhorst, née Härlin in 1892." (Biographies of Namibian Personalities) wulfhorstii (Baissea): see previous entry. Wurmbea (Colchicaceae): named by C.P. Thunberg for Friedrich von Wurmb (?-1781/1783), botanist, plant collector, Dutch colonial administrator. Ximenia (Olacaceae): named for a Spanish monk, Francisco Ximenez, who wrote about the plants of Mexico in the 17th century. The genus Ximenia also occurs in America and the type species of the genus, X. americana, is the only species that occurs in southern Africa other than Ximenia caffra. (PlantzAfrica) Youngia (Asteraceae): possibly named for two men, Edward Young (1684-1765), poet and writer, and a physician, Thomas Young (1773-1829), or according to other sources, it honors Charles, James and Peter Young, nurserymen at Epson, Surrey, during the early 19th c. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Zaluzianskya (Scrophulariaceae): named for the Bohemian botanist and physician Adam Zaluziansky (1558-1613), lecturer and administrator at Charles University in Prague. Zanha (Sapindaceae): possibly dedicated to the German plant collector K.H. Zahn. Zannichellia (Zannichelliaceae): commemorates the Italian botanist Giovanni Gerolamo Zannichelli (1662-1729), physician and pharmacist. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Zantedeschia (Araceae): named after Professor Zantedeschi, probably Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846), an Italian physician and botanist, although there is some uncertainty about this. Zeyherella/zeyheri (Berchemia, Dovyalis, Erythrina): named for the German botanist and botanical collector Carl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher (1799-1858), a well-known German naturalist who collected plants in South Africa. Zeyher came to the Cape in 1822, was a botanist at the Botanical Garden there, published Enumeratio plantarum Africae Australis with Christian Friedrich Ecklon, and died of smallpox. (PlantzAfrica) zimmermannii (Craibia): the specific epithet honors Philipp Wilhelm Albrecht Zimmermann (1860–1931), a German botanist who was Director of the Biological-Agricultural Institute at Amani, Tanzania (predecessor of the East African Herbarium, Nairobi ) from 1902 to 1920. (PlantzAfrica) Zinnia (Asteraceae): named for German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727-1759), physician, professor of botany, director of the botanical gardens at Göttingen, botanical collector and author. (CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names) Zornia (Fabaceae): named after the German pharmacist
and botanist Johannes Zorn (1739-1799, author of Icones plantarum
medicinalium. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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