Charles Carmichael Lacaita (1853 – 17 July 1933) was a British botanist and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. Lacaita was the only son of Sir James Philip Lacaita and his wife Maria Clavering Gibson-Carmichael daughter of Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. He was educated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

and was called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1879. He was Assistant Private Secretary to

Earl Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

in 1885. At the 1885 general election, Lacaita was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

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 ...

. He was re-elected in

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

, and resigned his seat on 7 February 1888 by the procedural device of accepting the post of

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resignation from the British House of Commons, resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. S ...

. His resignation was reported by ''The

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' to be due to "his strong disapproval of the procedure adopted by the Gladstone Liberals in their Home Rule policy" and reportedly angered Liberal supporters in Dundee. He had written to Ex-Bailie John Robertson, the Chairman of the Dundee Liberal's on 25 November 1887 intimating his intention to resign owing to his objection to what he saw as some Liberals practically encouraging Irish Nationalists pursuing "obstruction in parliament" and "violent agitation and lawlessness in Ireland". He indicated that this meant he could no longer guarantee to support

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and the Liberal Party in parliament, and as he believed that the majority in Dundee did support Gladstone he felt he should resign. Lacaita was a botanist of note. He lived at Horsley near Leatherhead and later at

Selham Selham is a small village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies south of the A272 road 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Midhurst. It is mainly in the civil parish of Graffham, but partly in that of Lodsworth to the north. His ...

, West Sussex.New York Times ''Digging for Darwin'' 15 May 2009
/ref> Lacaita died at the age of 80. Lacaita married Mary Annabel Doyle, daughter of

Sir Francis Hastings Doyle Sir Francis Hastings Charles Doyle, 2nd Baronet (21 August 1810 – 8 June 1888) was a British poet. Biography Doyle was born near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, to a military family which produced several distinguished officers, including his father, Ma ...

. Lacaita had nineteen plant species named after him. *(

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

) ''

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...

lacaitae ''

Peruzzi The Peruzzi were bankers of Florence, among the leading families of the city in the 14th century, before the rise to prominence of the Medici. Their modest antecedents stretched back to the mid 11th century, according to the family's genealogist ...

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

) ''

Echium ''Echium'' is a genus of approximately 70 species and several subspecies of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. Species of ''Echium'' are native to North Africa, mainland Europe to Central Asia, and the Macaronesian islands where ...

lacaitae''

Sennen Sennen (''Cornish: Sen Senan'' or ''Sen Senana'') is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately eight miles (13 km) west-southwest of Penzance.Ordnance Survey: Landra ...

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...

) ''

Draba ''Draba'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, commonly known as whitlow-grasses (though they are not related to the true grasses). Species There are over 400 species: *'' Draba abajoensis'' Windham & Al-Shehbaz *'' ...

lacaitae''

Boiss. Pierre Edmond Boissier (25 May 1810 Geneva – 25 September 1885 Valeyres-sous-Rances) was a Swiss prominent botanist, explorer and mathematician. He was the son of Jacques Boissier (1784-1857) and Caroline Butini (1786-1836), daughter of Pierre ...

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

) ''

Cerastium ''Cerastium'' is a genus of annual, winter annual, or perennial plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae. They are commonly called mouse-ear chickweed. Species are found nearly worldwide but the greatest concentration is in the northern tem ...

lacaitae'' Barberis, Bechi & Miceli *(

) ''

Silene ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...

lacaitae''

Willk. Heinrich Moritz Willkomm (29 June 1821, Herwigsdorf – 26 August 1895, Schloss Wartenberg in Wartenberg am Rollberg, Bohemia) was a German academic and botanist. He studied medicine at the University of Leipzig, later being named a profes ...

Cistaceae The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in nine genera that are ...

) '' Halimiocistus × lacaitae'' Dans. *(

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

) ''

Micromeria ''Micromeria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, with a center of diversity in the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands. It is sometimes placed within ...

lacaitae'' Lojac. *(

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

) ''

Lathyrus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 species ...

lacaitae '' Czefr. *(

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair ...

) ''

Gagea ''Gagea'' is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. It is found primarily in Eurasia with a few species extending into North Africa and one species (''Gagea serotina'') in North America. The genus is named after the English natur ...

lacaitae'' N.Terracc. ex Lojac. *(

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

) '' Ophrys lacaitae'' Lojac. *(

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial herbaceous plants, but a few grow as ...

) ''

Armeria ''Armeria'' is a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "lady's cushion", "thrift", or "sea pink" (the latter because as they are often found on coastlines). The genus counts over a hundred species, mostly native to the ...

lacaitae'' ( Villar) Rivas Mart.

References

External links

* 1853 births 1933 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British botanists Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dundee constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Members of Lincoln's Inn Place of birth missing {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub