Hugh Synge (1951-2018) was an English botanist of Anglo-Irish descent who championed

endangered plants As of September 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists 3654 endangered plant species. 17% of all evaluated plant species are listed as endangered. The IUCN also lists 99 subspecies and 101 varieties as endangered ...

. In 2007, he was voted one of the 20 most influential British conservationists by ''

BBC Wildlife ''BBC Wildlife'' is a British glossy, all-colour magazine about wildlife, operated and published by Immediate Media Company. It produces 13 issues a year. ''BBC Wildlife'' was launched in January 1963 as ''Animals Magazine'', edited by filmmaker ...

'' readers. Synge attended

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

, which he disliked, and then studied

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

Wye College bio sciences -> social sciences -> business school Pictures of OLT, Old Hall,Cloister, Parlour --> The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye ...

from where he volunteered then joined the staff of

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. He was founder and editor of ''Plant Talk'' magazine and wrote Kew's ''Threatened Plants'' newsletter. With fellow Kew conservationist Ronald Melville, Synge created an early threatened plants database which was taken up by the

World Conservation Monitoring Centre The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is a collaboration centre of UN Environment Programme, based in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. UNEP-WCMC has been part of UN Environment Programme since 2000, and has r ...

. He was co-founder of charity

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

; a consultant to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

, and later ran a community

solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...

business in Tisbury. Synge's father was journal editor and plant collector Patrick Millington Synge, and mother, singer Margaret Georgiana Chenevix Trench. His father's cousin was Irish playwright and poet J M Synge.

References

1951 births 2018 deaths English botanists English botanical writers People educated at Rugby School English people of Irish descent People from Woking Deaths from bone cancer Alumni of Wye College

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

Botanists active in Kew Gardens {{England-botanist-stub

Further reading

References