Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 who specialises in the Proteaceae

Proteaceae

Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...

 family, especially the Adenanthos

Adenanthos

Adenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...

genus; and the Ericaceae

Ericaceae

The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...

, especially Erica

Erica

Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....

. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers. He is honorary editor of Archives of Natural History

Archives of natural history

The Archives of Natural History is a peer-reviewed academic journal and the official journal of the Society for the History of Natural History. It publishes papers on the history and bibliography of natural history in its broadest sense, and in all periods and all cultures...

(the journal of the Society for the History of Natural History

Society for the History of Natural History

The Society for the History of Natural History is a friendly international society for everyone who is interested in natural history in the broadest sense. This includes botany, zoology and geology as well as natural history collections, exploration, art and bibliography. Everyone with an...

), and of Heathers (yearbook of The Heather Society).

Nelson was educated at Portora Royal School

Portora Royal School

Portora Royal School for boys, and some 6th form girls, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is one of a number of 'free schools' founded by Royal Charter in 1608, by James I...

 (Enniskillen

Enniskillen

Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...

), and obtained a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree in botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 at the Aberystwyth University. He then moved to Australia where he obtained a Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 from the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

 (Canberra) in 1975, for his studies into the taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 and ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

 of Adenanthos. He then returned to Ireland, taking up the position of horticultural taxonomist at the Irish National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin

Glasnevin

Glasnevin is a largely residential neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland.-Geography:A mainly residential neighbourhood, it is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin . It was originally established on the northern bank of the River Tolka...

 (Dublin).

See also

• Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
  Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
  Ernest Charles Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos was the first modern-day arrangement of that plant genus. First published in his 1978 Brunonia article "A taxonomic revision of the genus Adenanthos ", it superseded the arrangement of George Bentham, which had stood for over a hundred years...
  
  

External links

• Nelson, Ernest Charles (1951 - ) at the Australian National Botanic Gardens
  Australian National Botanic Gardens
  The Australian National Botanic Gardens are located in Canberra and are administered by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage....
  
   website
• Nelson, Ernest Charles (1951-) at the International Plant Names Index
• The Heather Society