William Cattley (1788 – 8 August 1835) was a British merchant and

horticulturist 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 ...

. He was significantly involved with the trade between Britain and Russia, including the importation of grain (generically called "corn") to England. He also collected, and had others collect on his behalf, plants from locations throughout the world. He was particularly fond of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s. Cattley was born in Garlickhythe ('garlic dock'), City of London, to a large merchant family. Many of Cattley's

factors Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

were members of his extended family, for example his cousin John Prescott headed up the firm's offices in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

from which he ran the Russian side of the trade. Prescott was an enthusiastic collector of plants, and forwarded large numbers back to England for Cattley. In 1818 Cattley was unpacking a shipment that he had received from Brazil. Among the various materials he found un-preposessing tendrils which might be an orchid, so he nurtured it back to health and it turned out to be the beautiful orchid, which

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

named in Cattley's honour as ''

Cattleya labiata ''Cattleya labiata'', also known as the crimson cattleya or ruby-lipped cattleya, is the type species of ''Cattleya'', discovered in 1818 in Brazil. This plant grows in the northeastern area of Brazil, in the states of Pernambuco and Alagoas. Th ...

'' (the "corsage orchid"). The year previously William Swainson had discovered the orchid in the wild in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco and dispatched a specimen along with other plants to Cattley via the

Glasgow Botanic Gardens Glasgow Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. It features several glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace. The Gardens has a wide variety of temperate and tropical flora, a h ...

. To help with his collection Cattley had hired

to draw, describe and catalog the novel plants in his garden at

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. Cattley paid for the publication of Lindley's monograph on

digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in sha ...

, ''Digitalium Monographia'', and later for Lindley’s ''Collectanea Botanica'' (1821) a catalogue of Cattley’s plant collection. However, after 1821 due to financial reverses, Cattley was no longer able to pay Lindley a salary. William Cattley died at his home, "Cattley Close", Wood Street, in Barnet on 8 August 1835. A blue plaque has been placed on the house which says: ''William Cattley, Botanist, 1788-1835, lived in this house.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cattley, William English merchants English horticulturists 1788 births 1835 deaths 19th-century British businesspeople