George Gardner (1810,

Ardentinny Ardentinny ( gd, Àird an t-Sionnaich or Àird an Teine) is a small village on the western shore of Loch Long, north of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Nearby is Cruach a Chaise (Cheese Hill), while on the ...

– 1849,

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

) was a Scottish

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

mainly interested in

botany 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 w ...

. Gardner's father was a gardener first to the Earl of Dunmore in Ardentinny, then from 1816 to the Earl of Eglinton at

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the ' Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

. In 1822, his parents moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

where he attended the grammar-school and acquired a good knowledge of the Latin language. He began the study of medicine in the

Andersonian university The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

of Glasgow in 1829, eventually becoming a surgeon. In 1836, encouraged by the famed botanist William Jackson Hooker, he brought out a work entitled ''Musci Britannici, or Pocket Herbarium of British Mosses arranged and named according to Hooker’s "British Flora"''. His botanical work impressed

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the fathe ...

who became his patron. In the summer of 1836 Gardner sailed from Liverpool for

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 ...

, to collect natural history specimens in North

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 ...

, including plants, minerals, recent and fossil shells, preserved skins of birds, mammals and fishes. The specimens were sent to public botanic gardens, as well as to private subscribers to the expedition. He stayed in Brazil for years (1836–1841). In 1842 he was elected a Member of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

. In 1843, the colonial government of Ceylon appointed him as superintendent of the botanic garden in

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...

and island botanist. Here he finished ''Travels in the Interior of Brazil, principally through the Northern Provinces and the Gold Districts, during the years 1836–41'', which was published in London by Reeves Brothers in 1846. He had also made extensive collections in Ceylon towards a complete ''Flora Zeylanica'', but this was not published because of his early death. Species named for Gardner are titled or .

References

* Torrington, 1849. Death of George Gardner. ''Hooker's J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc'' . 1: 154–156. *Ray Desmond, 1994. Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists including Plant Collectors, Flower Painters and Garden Designers. Taylor & Francis and The Natural History Museum (London).

External links

* Gardner, George. 1846.
Travels in the interior of Brazil: principally through the northern provinces, and the gold and diamond districts, during the years 1836-1841
'. London: Reeve, Brothers.
George Gardner: plant pioneer in Brazil
Web resource from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, including biographical details, travel accounts and details of his botanical collections.

Text from ''Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen'' Blackie and Son of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London 1856. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, George Scottish botanists Scottish entomologists People from Kandy Sri Lankan botanists Sri Lankan entomologists People of British Ceylon 1849 deaths 1810 births Sri Lankan environmentalists