James Keys (19 June 1841 – 26 January 1916) was a school teacher and pioneering 19th century

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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 ...

who was globally recognised for the diverse collections of plant specimens which he assembled from locations of floristic significance throughout his home state including Mt Perry,

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

, Bustard Heads,

Burrum River The Burrum River is a river located in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises within Lake Lenthall, impounded by Lenthalls Dam at the confluence of several smaller watercourses including Har ...

, Eurimbula, Pine Mountain,

Lake Cootharaba Lake Cootharaba is a lake on the Noosa River within the locality of Noosa North Shore in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. It is the gateway to the Everglades, a popular tourist attraction for Noosa, being 20 km away from Noosa. ...

Blackall Range The Blackall Range is a mountain range in South East Queensland, Australia. The first European explorer in the area was Ludwig Leichhardt. It was named after Samuel Blackall, the second Governor of Queensland. The Blackall Range dominates the ...

and Norman Creek. He was a close friend to

Colonial Botanist F.M. Bailey who was Keys' mentor and was responsible for many of Keys collections of lichens and mosses being sent to specialists in Europe for study. With Bailey's encouragement Keys was to compile a comprehensive collection of plants from the Upper

Burnett River The Burnett River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, close to Mount Gaeta a ...

and Mount Perry (in the

Wide Bay–Burnett Wide Bay–Burnett is a region of the Australian state of Queensland, located between north of the state capital, Brisbane. The area's population growth has exceeded the state average over the past 20 years, and it is forecast to grow to more ...

region) which culminated in the first local checklist of plants in

from outside of the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

area. Most of his flora collections which were not sent abroad now reside in the

Queensland Herbarium The Queensland Herbarium ( Index Herbariorum code: BRI) is situated at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of Queensland's Department of Environment and Science. It is responsible for disc ...

where approximately 600 of Keys' collections are presently preserved. Keys was also recognised for his abiding interest in uses of plants and his documentation of the aboriginal plant names in the Mt Perry district were listed in

Bailey's Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur, an alcoholic drink flavoured with cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey. It is made by Diageo at Nangor Road, in Dublin, Ireland and in Mallusk, Northern Ireland. It is the original Irish cream, invent ...

seminal 7-volume botanical book 'The Queensland Flora' (1899–1902, 1905). Keys first emigrated to Australia from Ireland in 1873 and worked initially as a school teacher in a number of south-eastern Queensland state schools eventually rising to the position of head master at Bundaberg Central Boys School which he held between July 1887 and 1898. Keys was appointed to the position of head teacher at

Norman Park State School Norman Park State School is a heritage-listed state school at 68-88 Agnew Street, Norman Park, Queensland, Norman Park, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built in 1900. It wa ...

upon its opening in July 1900, a post which he held until his retirement from the public service around 1904. Keys was the father of highly decorated Australian nurse Constance Keys and the grandfather of Australian naturalist and conservationist Margaret Thorsborne The plant species '' Boronia keysii'' Domin, ''Hoya keysii'' F.M.Bailey (now '' H. australis'' R.Br.) and ''Siphonodon australis'' var. ''keysii'' F.M.Bailey (now '' S. australis'' var. ''australis'' ) were named in honour of Keys.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keys, James Botanists active in Australia 1841 births 1916 deaths Colony of Queensland people