General William Munro (1818–1880) was a senior English Army officer and plant collector, botanist and agrostologist (specialist on grasses). His botanical works included ''Hortus Bangalorensis'' and ''Hortus Agrensis''.

Military career

Munro was born as eldest son of William Munro in

Druid Stoke Stoke Bishop is a medium-sized outer city suburb in the north-west of Bristol, located in between Westbury-on-Trym, Sneyd Park, and Sea Mills. Although relatively low, Stoke Bishop's population has increased due to substantial infilling on the ' ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

(now in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

), in 1818. In 1834 he entered the

39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot The 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 54th (West Norfolk) Regiment of Foot to form the Dorsetshire Regiment in 1881. History Earl ...

as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. He was promoted and given the rank of lieutenant in April 1836, captain in July 1844, major in May 1852 and lieutenant colonel in November 1853. He served many years with his regiment in India. However, it was during the Battle of Maharajpore where he was severely wounded on 24 December 1843. In 1876 he was given the colonelcy of the

93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot The 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Line Infantry Regiment of the British Army, raised in 1799. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sut ...

for life and on 25 June 1878 promoted to the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Plant collecting and agrostology

Munro became a fellow of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

in 1840. He conducted collecting expeditions to India (1834–1838), Kashmir (1847), and Barbados (1870–1875). His main research field was tropical grasses, including the

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

species of which he published a monograph in 1868. The genera '' Munroa'', '' Munronia'' and ''

Munrochloa ''Pseudoxytenanthera'' is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family native to India, Sri Lanka, and Indochina. ;Species # ''Pseudoxytenanthera bourdillonii'' (Gamble) H.B.Naithani – India # ''Pseudoxytenanthera monadelpha'' (Thwaites) Soders ...

'' are named in his honour.

Death

Munro died in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, on 29 January 1880. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Munro when citing a

botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...

Selected works

*Discovery of Fossil Plants at Kamptee, 'Proc. Agr. Soc. India,' 1842, pp. 22–23 *On Antidotes to Snake-bites, 'J. Agr. Soc. India,' 1848, vi. 1-23 *Report on Timber Trees of Bengal, 'Edinburgh New Phil. J.,' 1849, xlvi. 84–94 *Froriep Notizen, 1849, x. 81–7, 'Characters of some New Grasses collected at Hong Kong & in the vicinity by Mr. Charles Wright in the North Pacific Exploring Expedition,' 'American Academy Proceedings,' 1857–60, vi. 362–8 *An Identification of the Grasses of Linnæus's Herbarium, now in possession of the Linnean Society of London, 'Linn. Soc. J.,' 1862. vi. 33–55 *A monograph of the Bambusaceae. In: Trans. Linn. Soc. London. 26, 1868.

References

External links

* Biography at Wikisource
Biography

General William Munro, C.B., 39th Regiment – Soldier and Plantsman
* 1818 births 1880 deaths People from Gloucestershire British Army generals Botanists with author abbreviations English botanists Plant collectors Fellows of the Linnean Society of London {{UK-botanist-stub