![Henry & Elwes, 1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Henry_%26_Elwes%2C_1913.jpg)
Augustine Henry (2 July 1857 – 23 March 1930) was a British-born Irish
plantsman
A plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener (amateur or professional), nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used. The word is ...
and
sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry
specimen
Specimen may refer to:
Science and technology
* Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount
* Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...
s and seeds and 500 plant samples to
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a recognised authority and was honoured with society membership in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, France, and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. In 1929 the Botanical Institute of Peking dedicated to him the second volume of ''Icones plantarum Sinicarum'', a collection of plant drawings. In 1935, ''John William Besant'' was to write: 'The wealth of beautiful trees and flowering shrubs which adorn gardens in all temperate parts of the world today is due in a great measure to the pioneer work of the late Professor Henry'.
[Besant, J. W. (1935) 'Plantae Henryanae', ''Gard. Chron.'' 98 (9 November 1935): 334–335.]
Early life and education
Henry was born on 2 July 1857 in
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
to Bernard (a
flax merchant) and Mary (née McManee) Henry; the family returned to
Cookstown,
Co. Tyrone, shortly afterwards. Educated at Cookstown Academy and later
Queens College Galway
The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...
(B.A.),
Queens College, Belfast (M.A.) 1879 to study medicine, Henry transferred his studies to
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
to finish his degree sooner and duly qualified as a doctor. At some stage, he came in contact with
Sir Robert Hart
Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, (20 February 1835 – 20 September 1911) was a British diplomat and official in the Qing Chinese government, serving as the second Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service (IMCS) from 1863 to ...
who encouraged him to join the
Imperial Customs Service in China.
Henry entered the Imperial Customs Service in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
in 1881 as Assistant Medical Officer and Customs Assistant. He was sent to the remote posting of
Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
(Ichanh) in 1882 in
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
Province, Central China, to investigate plants used in
Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
. He also served in
Hupeh
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
,
Szechuan,
Simao (Yunnan),
Mengsi
Mengsi () is a town in Linyi County, Dezhou
Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou ...
and
Formosa (Taiwan). Later in his Chinese career he studied Law and became a member of the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
. Henry had studied Chinese before going to China and gained a great proficiency in the language. Henry retired with the rank of
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
.
Plantsman career
While at Yichang and in other parts of China he collected plants, seeds and specimens, many of which had not been known until then. He also collaborated with at least one local person to collect specimens, a person by the name of "Ho" (as seen on specimen labels). In 1888 he published a list of Chinese plants for the Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
. At that time the
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
and
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
of China was not well known. By 1896, 25 new
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
and 500 new species had been identified from his specimens. Henry sent over 15,000 dry
specimen
Specimen may refer to:
Science and technology
* Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount
* Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...
s and seed to
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
and 500 plant samples; many of these later became well known garden plants.
[Nelson, E. C. (2000). ''A Heritage of Beauty, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia'', Annex X11 – Augustine Henry's Plants, 309–324. Irish Garden Plant Society 2000 .] He named 19 of them, including ''
Aconitum hemsleyanum'' after William Botting Hemsley of Kew. His personal herbarium from China and Taiwan, consisting of ca. 8,000 sheets, was purchased by
The New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...
in 1901, using contributions from members of the Garden. At the time, it was described as "the best herbarium series representing the Chinese flora in America."
Henry gave instructions to the plant collector Ernest Wilson on where to collect ''
Davidia involucrata
''Davidia involucrata'', the dove-tree, handkerchief tree, pocket handkerchief tree, or ghost tree, is a medium-sized deciduous tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is the only living species in the genus ''Davidia''. It was previously included wi ...
'', originally discovered by the French missionary priest Père
Armand David. On his return to Europe he spent some time working on his own introductions at the
Royal Botanic Garden Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
.
In 1900, Henry went to France to study at the
French National School of Forestry
The French National School of Forestry (''École nationale des eaux et forêts'', or National School of Water Resources and Forestry), established in Nancy, France, in 1824, was the first national training institute for foresters in France ...
at
Nancy. He later became joint author with
Henry John Elwes
Henry John Elwes, FRS (16 May 1846 – 26 November 1922) was a British botanist, entomologist, author, lepidopterist, collector and traveller who became renowned for collecting specimens of lilies during trips to the Himalaya and Korea. He w ...
of the 7 volume ''Trees of Great Britain and Ireland'' 1907–13.
[Elwes, H. J. & Henry, A. (1913). ''The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland''. Vol. VII. pp 1848–1929. Private publication. ] His contribution here was unique insofar as he devised a system of identification based on leaves and twigs and on the position of buds to aid identification even in the absence of fruit and flowers. He was involved in the establishment of the Chair of Forestry at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1907, and remained there until 1913. He was responsible, with A.C. Forbes, the Director of Forestry at the Department of Agriculture and Technical instruction, for the lay-out of plots of trees at
Avondale, County Wicklow.
Celtic Revival
Henry had an interest in the
Arts and Crafts movement and in the
Celtic Revival
The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gael ...
. He knew the poet
W.B. Yeats,
George William Russell
George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centra ...
(AE),
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, wife of
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
, and was acquainted with the families of Sir
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...
and
Erskine Childers.
Royal College of Science, Dublin
He took up the Chair of Forestry at the Royal College of Science (later
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
), in 1913 and assisted later in setting up a National Forestry Service.
Private life
Henry married Alice Brunton in 1908; they did not have children.
Works
*''The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland'' 1907–13, co-author
H. J. Elwes. Private (subscription only) publication. Edinburgh.
* ''Notes on Economic Botany of China'', introduction by E. Charles Nelson, Boethus Press 1986
* Anthropological work on Lolos and non-Han Chinese of Western Yunnan
Plants named after Augustine Henry
The following plants are named after Augustine Henry:
* ''
Aconitum henryi'' (Sparks Variety Monkshood)
* ''
Clematis
''Clematis'' is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with ''Clematis'' × ''jackmanii'', a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars ...
henryi''
* ''
Emmenopterys henryi
''Emmenopterys henryi'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in the temperate parts of central and southern China and in Vietnam. It is a deciduous tree with opposite leaves and can attain heights of 45 m and grow ...
''
* ''
Illicium henryi''
[Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). p 196]
* ''
Lilium henryi
''Lilium henryi'' (), sometimes called tiger lily or Henry's lily, is a native lily of the mountains of central China (Provinces of Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi). The flowers are orange, spotted black, and unscented. The petals are recurving (bent ba ...
''
* ''
Lonicera
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...
henryi''
* ''
Parthenocissus henryana''
* ''
Rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
augustinii''
* ''
Saruma henryi''
* ''
Tilia henryana
''Tilia henryana'' Szyszyl., commonly known as Henry's lime, was introduced to the West from China by Ernest Wilson in 1901. The tree is native to the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, and Zhejiang,Tang, Y., G ...
''
* ''
Viburnum
''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
The membe ...
henryi''
References
Bibliography
*Bretschneider. (1898) ''History of European Botanical Discoveries in China'', 1898 London.
*Lamb, K. & Bowe, P. (1995). ''A History of Gardening in Ireland''. The Botanic Gardens 1995,
*Nelson, E. C. (2000). ''A Heritage of Beauty, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia'', Annex X11 – Augustine Henry's Plants, 309–324. Irish Garden Plant Society 2000 .
*
Pim, S. (1984). ''The Wood and the Trees Augustine Henry'', Boethus Press,
*Smyth, N. (2002). ''Augustine Henry's Chinese expeditions''.
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
.
External links
Herbarium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Augustine
1857 births
1930 deaths
People from Dundee
People from County Tyrone
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
French National School of Forestry alumni
Irish sinologists
Irish orientalists
19th-century Irish botanists
Irish gardeners
Forestry academics
Academics of University College Dublin
British foresters
20th-century Irish botanists