Carl Purdy (1861 – August 8, 1945) was an American nurseryman from

Ukiah, California Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...

Early life

Purdy was born in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and moved to

, as a child. He was accepted to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, but could not attend after an accident damaged his vision. Purdy became interested botany and biology as a child and later worked as a schoolteacher.

Career

As a nurseryman, Purdy specialized in plants native to California. ''

Iris purdyi ''Iris purdyi'' is a species of iris known by the common name Purdy's iris, named after Carl Purdy. It is found in the redwood forests of California and into southern Oregon, and hence is also known as the redwood iris. The plant flowers from ...

'' (Purdy's iris), which he discovered, is named after him. The San Francisco Call ran an article about him "The Lily Man of Ukiah." His nursery business, Carl Purdy Gardens, was continued by his children. A collection of catalogues issued by his firm is held at the Bailey Hortorium on the campus of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. The New York Botanic Garden has a biography of Carl Purdy.

References

External links

*
Carl Purdy Exhibition
at the Mendocino Museum, and th
guidebook
1861 births 1945 deaths American horticulturists People from Ukiah, California {{US-botanist-stub