David Bowman (3 September 1838 – 25 June 1868) was a British

plant collector Plant collecting is the acquisition of plant specimens for the purposes of research, cultivation, or as a hobby. Plant specimens may be kept alive, but are more commonly dried and pressed to preserve the quality of the specimen. Plant collecting i ...

who, in 1866, was sent by

James Veitch & Sons The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into t ...

to collect in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The species ''

Dieffenbachia ''Dieffenbachia'' , commonly known as dumb cane or leopard lily, is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the New World Tropics from Mexico and the West Indies south to Argentina. Some species are widely cul ...

bowmanii'' is named after him.

Career

Bowman was born at Arniston near

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

, where his father worked as a gardener. Bowman started his gardening career working with his father, before working at the gardens at

Dalhousie Castle Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Cockpen, Midlothian, Scotland. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg, 8 miles (13 km) south of Edinburgh. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay. H ...

, Archerfield, and Dunmore Park, all in Scotland. He later took up a position as foreman in the gardens of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

at Chiswick, west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1866, he was recruited by

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, who, in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

with

William Wilson Saunders William Wilson Saunders FRS (4 June 1809 – 13 September 1879) was a British insurance broker, entomologist and botanist. Saunders was an underwriter at Lloyd's of London. He served as president of the Entomological Society from 1841 to 18 ...

, sent him to

to search for

orchid 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 flowerin ...

s and other plants. He travelled initially to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

and travelled across the continent to Colombia. Amongst the plants he discovered and sent to his employers were '' Dieffenbachia bowmanii'' and '' Paullinia thalictrifolia'', a climbing hothouse plant with

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

-like foliage. He also found two orchids, ''

Odontoglossum crispum ''Odontoglossum crispum'', the curled odontoglossum, is an epiphytic orchid from the genus ''Odontoglossum''. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful orchid of all but is also one of the most difficult to grow. Description ''Odonto ...

'' "Alexandrae" and '' Cyanophyllum bowmanii'', which was later awarded a first-class certificate by the RHS's Floral Committee. Whilst in Colombia, he also discovered '' Miltoniopsis vexillaria'', but was unable to send a specimen back to England. As well as sending back plants for Veitch, he also obtained material for private collectors in England and for the Royal Horticultural Society. He was preparing to ship a large collection to England from La Paz when he was attacked, losing most of his finds and as a result was instructed by James Veitch, Jr. to remain in Colombia in order to re-trace his steps. Shortly afterwards, he contracted

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

which led to his death on 25 June 1868. He was buried in the British cemetery at Bogota.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, David Scottish botanists 1838 births 1868 deaths People from Midlothian Veitch Nurseries Botanists active in South America Plant collectors