Robert Dunlop Royce (14 March 1914 – 10 July 2008) was an Australian botanist. He was

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the

Western Australian Herbarium The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia. It is part of the State government's Department of Parks and Wildlife, and has responsibility for the description and documentation of the flora of Western Austr ...

from 1960 to 1974. Born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, he began his botanical career with the

Western Australian Department of Agriculture The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is a Western Australian government department responsible for regulating and advancing agricultural and food industries, fisheries and regional development within the state. I ...

in 1937. He transferred to the Western Australian Herbarium in 1944, and was appointed curator in 1960. One of his main research interests was the application of botany to agriculture, and to this end he undertook substantial research into toxic plants. He published numerous papers on a range of subjects, but does not appear to have described any new taxa. He also oversaw the planning and construction of the current herbarium building. He retired in 1974. The genus ''

Roycea ''Roycea'' is a genus of plants formerly in the family Chenopodiaceae, and now in the Amaranthaceae. The genus was first described in 1948 by Charles Austin Gardner, and the genus name honours Robert Dunlop Royce (a helper at the Perth Herbariu ...

'' and the species ''

Eucalyptus roycei ''Eucalyptus roycei'', commonly known as Shark Bay mallee, is a species of mallee or a small tree that is endemic to a small area along the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia. It has rough fibrous or flaky bark on the lower trunk, smooth greyis ...

'' (Shark Bay Mallee) were named in his honour.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royce, Robert Dunlop 1914 births 2008 deaths Botanists active in Australia Scientists from Western Australia