James Anderson (1797 – 22 April 1842) was a Scottish botanical collector who later became the superintendent of the

Sydney Botanic Gardens The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government are ...

Early life

Anderson was born in

Boquhan Boquhan (pronounced Bow-whawn) is a hamlet in Stirling, Scotland, sometimes known as Wester Boquhan to distinguish it from another Boquhan, near Kippen. The hamlet lies southwest of the village of Balfron and northeast of Killearn. Just east ...

near

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

in Scotland in 1797.

Plant collecting

Between 1826 and 1830 Anderson sailed on HMS ''Adventure'', collecting seeds and dried specimens. This voyage, to the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natural ...

and the coast of South America, was captained by

Phillip Parker King Phillip Parker King (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts. Early life and education King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King ''née'' Coo ...

. A collection of dried specimens was submitted to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

after the voyage. He collected many South American species for the

Clapton Nursery The Clapton Nursery also known as Mackay's Clapton Nursery and later Low's Clapton Nursery was a plant nursery established in the early 19th century by John Bain Mackay in Upper Clapton, London, and noted for its introductions of Australian and So ...

in London on behalf of

Hugh Low Sir Hugh Low, (10 May 182418 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he was appointed as British administrator in the Malay Peninsula where he made the first t ...

and

John Bain Mackay John Bain Mackay (5 February 1795 – 9 August 1888) was a nurseryman based in Clapton, London noted for his introductions of Australian and South American plants into cultivation. He was born in Echt in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. At his Cl ...

including the following: * '' Francoa appendiculata'', Chiloé, Chile * '' Herbertia pulchella'', Bay of Maldonado. Uruguay * ''

Libertia chilensis ''Libertia chilensis'', synonym ''Libertia formosa'', called the New Zealand satin flower, snowy mermaid, or Chilean-iris, is a species of flowering plant in the iris family, Iridaceae, native to the Juan Fernández Islands, central and southern ...

'' (syn. ''Libertia formosa'') "from near the southern extremity of the continent of America" (introduced from seed) * ''

Solanum crispum ''Solanum crispum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family ''Solanaceae''. It is native to Chile and Peru. Common names include Chilean potato vine, Chilean nightshade, Chilean potato tree and potato vine. Growing to tall, it is a semi-e ...

'', Chiloé, Chile (introduced 1830) He also sent plant specimens to William Hooker at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

. File:Francoa appendiculata pm.jpg, ''Francoa appendiculata'' File:Libertia chilensis - University of California Botanical Garden - DSC08909.JPG, ''Libertia chinensis'' File:SolanumCrispum.jpg, ''Solanum crispum''

New South Wales

On 25 August 1832, Anderson arrived in Sydney on the ship ''Brothers'' which had set out from Plymouth on 4 May. In 1835, he advertised seeds of 150 species of the "Flora of New South Wales" as well as 300 dried specimens for sale. In the same year he was appointed to the position of assistant superintendent at

. He became superintendent in 1838 and continued in this role until his death in 1842.

Death

Anderson died in 1842 in his residence at the botanic gardens. He was buried at

Devonshire Street Cemetery The Devonshire Street Cemetery (also known as the Brickfield Cemetery or Sandhills Cemetery) was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, Sydney, Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers Street, Chalmers and Devonshire streets, at Brickfi ...

, the inscription on his tombstone reading: :''Erected to the memory of the late James Anderson, Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, who died on the 22nd April, 1842. He was born at Boquhan, near Stirling, Scotland, in 1797, and travelled over a great part of Europe, Africa, and America, and along the coast of New Holland, collecting rare botanic specimens. He was of a most kindly disposition, and highly esteemed by all who knew him. This monument was subscribed for by a number of his friends in this colony to show their respect for his memory.'' In 1901 his remains were re-interred at the cemetery at La Perouse. '' Carex andersonii'', a species that he collected at Port Famine on the Strait of Magellan, was named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jamesl 1797 births 1842 deaths Botanical collectors active in Australia