John Gilbert Baker (13 January 1834 – 16 August 1920) 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 ...

. His son was the botanist

Edmund Gilbert Baker Edmund Gilbert Baker (1864–1949) was a British plant collector and botanist. He was the son of John Gilbert Baker. Works * ''Synopsis of Malveae'', 1895 * ''The plants of Milanji, Nyassa-land''. Con James Britten. 1894 * ''Catalogue of the Pl ...

(1864–1949).

Biography

Baker was born in

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, the son of John and Mary (née Gilbert) Baker, and died in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. He was educated at Quaker schools at Ackworth School and

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school ...

, York. He then worked at the library and

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

between 1866 and 1899, and was keeper of the herbarium from 1890 to 1899. He wrote handbooks on many plant groups, including

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fa ...

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

Iridaceae Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair ...

, and

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 except t ...

s. His published works includ
''Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles''
(1877) and ''Handbook of the Irideae'' (1892). He married Hannah Unthank in 1860. Their son Edmund was one of twins, and his twin brother died before 1887. John G. Baker was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1878. He was awarded the

Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize issued annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement o ...

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 (Nort ...

in 1907.

Taxa named in honour

Several plant species with the epithet ''bakeriana'' or ''bakeranius'' and ''bakeranium'' have been named in honour of John G. Baker.Dr Ross Bayton Including; * ''

Hieracium bakerianum ''Hieracium bakerianum'' is a species of hawkweed. The species is named in honor of botanist John Gilbert Baker. Range It is native to Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of co ...

'' * ''

Hymenostegia bakeriana ''Hymenostegia bakeriana'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in Cameroon and Nigeria. It is threatened by habitat loss. Taxonomy The Latin specific epithet ''bakeriana'' is in honor of the English botanist John Gilbert Ba ...

'' * '' Iris reticulata var. bakeriana'' (also known as '' Iris bakeriana'') * '' Lilium bakerianum'' * ''

Rhodolaena bakeriana ''Rhodolaena bakeriana'' is a tree in the family Sarcolaenaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Description ''Rhodolaena bakeriana'' grows as a medium-sized tree. Its twigs are hairy. It has small to medium leaves, obovate, elliptic or oblong in s ...

'' * ''

Rubus bakerianus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of thes ...

Selected publications

* *

References

External links

*
Handbook of the Irideae by J G Baker (1892)
1834 births 1920 deaths People from Guisborough People educated at Ackworth School People educated at Bootham School English botanists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients Veitch Memorial Medal recipients British pteridologists {{UK-botanist-stub