David Richard Hunt (25 September 1938 – 20 May 2019) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

and

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

. He was a specialist in

cacti A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

and the spiderwort family. He notably compiled the 1999

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

Checklist.

Personal life

Hunt was married to organist Margaret Phillips and co-founder of the English Organ School and Museum in

Milborne Port Milborne Port is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in Somerset, England, east of Sherborne, and in the South Somerset district. It has a population of 2,802. The parish includes the hamlets of Milborne Wick and Kingsbury Regis. The vil ...

Life and Work

Hunt received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Cambridge in 1959 and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1963. In 1983 he received a doctoral degree (PhD) from the University of Reading. Hunt worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. He was from 1968 to 1982 editor of the journal ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. From 1964 to 2005 he was on the Conifer Nomenclature Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society. From 1974 to 1994, he was Secretary and/or Publisher of the International Organisation for Succulent Research. From 1990 to 2003 he was a member of the Council and Scientific Committee of the International Dendrology Society and editor of the Council from 1992 to 1995. From 1989 to 1991 he worked in the Council of Management of the Cornwall Gardens Trust. His specialities were the plant families Cacti (Cactaceae) and Commelinaceae (Commelinaceae).

Honours

The species epithet of the carnivorous plant ''

Utricularia huntii ''Utricularia huntii'' is a medium-sized perennial terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus '' Utricularia''. ''U. huntii'' is endemic to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portugues ...

'' from the genus of bladderworts has been awarded in his honour.

Publications (selected)

Volume 13 of the ''Flora Novo-Galiciana'', published by R. McVaugh, Hunt contributed the chapter on the plant family Commelinaceae (University of Michigan Herbarium, pages 130-201). To volume 6 of the flora mesoamericana (subtitle "Alismataceae to Cyperacaea", first published in March 1994) he also contributed the chapter on the plant family Commelinaceae. He also contributed to the published by WD Stevens at the Missouri Botanical Garden Press Flora de Nicaragua for the 2001 volume 1 published the chapter Commelinaceae (pages 638-650). Here is an overview of some of his writings: * * * * * *

Sources

*
"Hunt, David R."
Short profile at kew.org. * ''This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

References

1938 births 2019 deaths English botanists English taxonomists {{UK-botanist-stub