George Maxwell (1804–1880) was a professional collector of plants and insects in Southwest Australia. The

botanical 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 ...

specimens he obtained were used to make formal descriptions of the region's plant species.

Biography

He was born in England in 1804 and moved to Western Australia in 1840 to settle at King George Sound, remaining there until his death at Middleton Beach in 1880. Maxwell occupied himself a number of activities, selling curios and offering to guide visitors to the port. He began collecting plants and insects of the region, assisting the botanist James Drummond in 1846. The collections he made, in the company of Drummond and

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 ...

, would provide type specimens for the publication of scientific descriptions. Maxwell's collections are now preserved in Australian herbarium, his contribution to the botanical knowledge of the region and '' Flora Australiensis'' was noted by Mueller in '' the Gardeners' Chronicle'';

Only two years ago I made long journeys with him over rough country for several days on horseback to collect plants and seeds. More than 30 years ago he conducted Drummond through the Stirling Ranges in the journey that proved so memorable in the discovery of many splendid plants. He was nearly always in the bush, and engaged in collecting seeds, botanical and entomological specimens. Encouraged by myself, he undertook several extensive journeys over then untrodden ground, eastward as far as the Great Bight, and thus found many new plants and enabled us to extend the known limits of the range of many rare species, as recorded in the ''Flora Australiensis''.

The expedition with Drummond began in the

Stirling Ranges The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth. It is over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranb ...

in 1846, continuing on to Cape Riche and Mount Barren. The specimens obtained on their journey became known as Drummond's fourth collection, many of which are referenced in published descriptions of the region's species. Maxwell is thought to have been partnered with William Webb, who continued the trade in specimens after his death. The following species were named by Mueller and

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in recognition of this collector: *''Eriostemon maxwelli'' *''Genosiris maxwelli'', transferred to ''

Patersonia maxwellii ''Patersonia maxwellii'' is a species of flowering plant in the iris family Iridaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a tufted, rhizome-forming perennial herb with linear leaves and violet tepals. Description ''Patersoni ...

'' * ''

Lasiopetalum maxwellii ''Lasiopetalum maxwellii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south coast Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with hairy young stems, lance-shaped to oblong leaves and white to cream-colou ...

'' * ''

Phymatocarpus maxwellii ''Phymatocarpus maxwellii'' is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It resembles many small species of Melaleuca, mainly differing in the way its anthers are attached at the top of the sta ...

'' *''Pimelea maxwelli'' ('' Pimelea brevifolia subsp. brevifolia'') *''Poa maxwelli'' (''

Poa serpentum ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...

'')

Biography

References

Further reading