Alexander Morrison (15 March 1849 – 7 December 1913) was a Scottish Botanist who was the first Government

Botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Morrison was born in western

Dalmeny Dalmeny ( gd, Dùn Mheinidh, IPA: �t̪uːnˈvenɪʝ is a village and civil parish in Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, southeast of South Queensferry and west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the tradit ...

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 ...

the 8th of 10 children to Thomas Morrison (1809-1867) and Ann Geggie (1815-1867). He began a medicine degree at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, but suffered from ill health, prompting him to break his studies and visit Australia. He spent two years in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

before returning to Edinburgh to complete his degree. He then undertook post-graduate studies at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He returned to Australia in 1877 as a medical officer on a migrant ship. He practiced medicine in Melbourne for 15 years, but again ill health prompted him to travel. He visited the

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur'', ...

and spend some time living in the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

, where he collected plants for

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

. After returning to Australia, he was appointed the first Government Botanist of Western Australia, holding the position from 1897 to 1906. He produced few papers during this time, but these were considered high quality work. Plant taxa published by him include '' Acacia densiflora'', '' Acacia longispinea'', ''

Angianthus acrohyalinus ''Angianthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which was first described by Wendland in 1810.Wendland, Johann Christoph. 1810.Collectio Plantarum 2(2): 31 The type species is '' Angianthus tomentosus''. Etymology The gen ...

'' (hook-leaf angianthus), '' Calandrinia creethae'', '' Calandrinia schistorhiza'', '' Drosera bulbigena'' (midget sundew), '' Drosera occidentalis'' (western sundew), and ''

Indigofera boviperda ''Indigofera'' is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Description Species of ''Indigofera'' are m ...

''. He also collected numerous specimens; for example he collected the type specimens for ''

Eucalyptus ebbanoensis ''Eucalyptus ebbanoensis'', commonly known as the sandplain mallee, is a species of Mallee (habit), mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth greyish bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, whit ...

'' and '' E. platycorys''. Morrison was retrenched in 1906, thereupon returning to medical practice. In 1912 he was appointed assistant botanist to

Alfred Ewart Alfred James Ewart, FRS (12 February 1872 – 12 September 1937) was an English- Australian botanist. Early life and education Ewart was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, England, second son of Edmund Brown Ewart, B.A. and his wife, Marth ...

at the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria ( Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.5 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known a ...

. He died at Cheltenham, Victoria the following year. He bequeathed his

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

, his library to the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, and the remainder of his estate to the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Alexander Morrison National Park Alexander Morrison National Park is a national park in Western Australia, located north of Perth in the Shire of Coorow along the Green Head-Coorow Road. It was named for Alexander Morrison (botanist), Alexander Morrison, the first Government Bo ...

is named in his honour.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Alexander 1849 births 1913 deaths Botanists active in Australia Botany in Western Australia Scientists from Western Australia Scottish botanists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from West Lothian Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia