Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles
In the 1850s Robert William Plant collected plants and other natural specimens in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. This one-time Englishman compiled a dictionary for gardeners before emigrating to Natal in 1850. There he worked as the agent for Samuel Stevens, the London dealer in 'curiosities of nat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Academy of Science of South Africa
2011-03-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
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| Online Access: | http://192.168.0.117/index.php/sajs/article/view/9865 |
| _version_ | 1819117434342211584 |
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| author | Donal McCracken |
| author_facet | Donal McCracken |
| author_sort | Donal McCracken |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the 1850s Robert William Plant collected plants and other natural specimens in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. This one-time Englishman compiled a dictionary for gardeners before emigrating to Natal in 1850. There he worked as the agent for Samuel Stevens, the London dealer in 'curiosities of natural history'. Though Plant collected mainly plants, he also sent consignments of beetles, butterflies, bird skins and shells back to Britain. He published the first scientific paper on Zululand and was requested by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to write the first Flora natalensis. It was while collecting for this never-to-be-completed treatise that Plant contracted malaria in Maputaland. He died in St Lucia in 1858 and in doing so became South Africa's martyr to botany. What emerges from this study is a picture of the difficulties faced by plant hunters in mid-19th-century South Africa, the sort of plants they collected and the necessity for them sometimes to diversify into other natural history products to survive. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:32:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aabff170aef74c39b342a5c45591c36c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T05:32:55Z |
| publishDate | 2011-03-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-aabff170aef74c39b342a5c45591c36c2022-12-21T18:37:24ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892011-03-011073/4Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the SeychellesDonal McCracken0Centre for Communication, Media and Society, University of KwaZulu-NatalIn the 1850s Robert William Plant collected plants and other natural specimens in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. This one-time Englishman compiled a dictionary for gardeners before emigrating to Natal in 1850. There he worked as the agent for Samuel Stevens, the London dealer in 'curiosities of natural history'. Though Plant collected mainly plants, he also sent consignments of beetles, butterflies, bird skins and shells back to Britain. He published the first scientific paper on Zululand and was requested by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to write the first Flora natalensis. It was while collecting for this never-to-be-completed treatise that Plant contracted malaria in Maputaland. He died in St Lucia in 1858 and in doing so became South Africa's martyr to botany. What emerges from this study is a picture of the difficulties faced by plant hunters in mid-19th-century South Africa, the sort of plants they collected and the necessity for them sometimes to diversify into other natural history products to survive.http://192.168.0.117/index.php/sajs/article/view/9865biographybotanyhistoryplant huntingsouthern Africa |
| spellingShingle | Donal McCracken Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles South African Journal of Science biography botany history plant hunting southern Africa |
| title | Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles |
| title_full | Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles |
| title_fullStr | Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles |
| title_short | Robert Plant (1818- 1858): A Victorian plant hunter in Natal, Zululand, Mauritius and the Seychelles |
| title_sort | robert plant 1818 1858 a victorian plant hunter in natal zululand mauritius and the seychelles |
| topic | biography botany history plant hunting southern Africa |
| url | http://192.168.0.117/index.php/sajs/article/view/9865 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT donalmccracken robertplant18181858avictorianplanthunterinnatalzululandmauritiusandtheseychelles |