Nicholas Edward Brown (11 July 1849 in Redhill, Surrey – 25 November 1934 in

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

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) was an English plant

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are give ...

and authority on

succulents In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

. He was also an authority on several families of plants, including Asclepiadaceae,

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly known as ice plants or carpet weeds. They are often called vygies in South Africa and Ne ...

Labiatae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

and Cape plants.

Background

He started work as an assistant in the Herbarium at

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 ...

in 1873, and was Assistant Keeper from 1909 to 1914. His drawings of succulent plants were made in connection with his revision of the genus ''

Mesembryanthemum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts ...

'', which appeared in 1931, and are accompanied by detailed annotations. He was the author of important works on plant taxonomy particularly succulent plants. The

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). A ...

genus '' Nebrownia'' was named in his honour by Otto Kuntze. A number of plants bear the specific name "''nebrownii''" - such as ''Acacia nebrownii'', ''Gibbaeum nebrownii'', ''Caralluma nebrownii'' and ''Lithops olivacea v nebrownii'', as does a waterhole in the

Etosha National Park Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...

. The plant ''

Anthurium brownii ''Anthurium brownii'' is a species of plant in the genus ''Anthurium'' native to Central and South America, from Costa Rica through Panamá, and south to Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. First scientifically described in 1876, it was collected b ...

'' and the genus

Brownanthus ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts ...

also bear his name. He was awarded the

Captain Scott Memorial Medal Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

by the

South African Biological Society South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

in recognition of his work on SA flora, and in 1932 an honorary D.Sc. was conferred on him by the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

. His publications appeared mainly in the ''Kew Bull.'' and in ''Flora Capensis''. He married the daughter of Thomas Cooper (1815–1913), another Kew botanist.

References

Kew.org

External links

1849 births 1934 deaths English botanists English taxonomists {{UK-botanist-stub