Joseph Burtt Davy
Encyclopedia
Joseph Burtt Davy
Joseph Burtt Davy (7 March 1870 Findern
, Derbyshire
- 20 August 1940 Birmingham
, was a Quaker botanist and agrostologist. He was the first curator of the Forest Herbarium at the Imperial Forestry Institute when it was founded in 1924.
He attended school at Ilkley
in West Yorkshire
. In 1891 he joined Kew Gardens
as a technical assistant, leaving shortly after for the USA where he enrolled in the botany department at the University of California
. Here he studied agriculture from 1893-96 and took up the post of botanist at the Agricultural Experiment Station in California between 1896-1901, describing the Cyperaceae
and Gramineae for A Flora of Western Middle California by Willis Linn Jepson
. Here he also met his wife-to-be, Alice Bolton (1863-1953), a native Californian.
In early 1903, he was appointed botanist and agrostologist with the newly founded Transvaal Department of Agriculture. Burtt Davy wasted no time in starting a collection of Transvaal plants, a process by which he acquired an intimate knowledge of the subject. These first specimens came from Meintjieskop
, Irene
and a trip to the western Transvaal - at the time of his retirement in 1913, his collected specimens numbered 14,000.
Burtt Davy's appointment led directly to the founding of the Division of Botany. This later became the Botanical Research Institute (BRI) and then the National Botanical Institute (NBI) in 1989 when it amalgamated with the National Botanic Gardens. Still not content, bureaucracy stepped in once more in 2004 and it was renamed the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
One of Burtt Davy's great interests was the subject of plant introduction, a matter to which he devoted much attention, importing plants and seeds from all over the world. He was responsible for introducing the forage crop, teff
, as well as the lawn grass Kikuyu
. He helped establish a maize-breeding centre at Vereeniging and resigned shortly before the publication of his comprehensive work on maize
in 1914.
He moved to his own farm 'Burttholm' near Vereeniging, where he set up a partnership with the Hon. Hugh Wyndham, breeding and growing agricultural seed and Hereford cattle
. The enterprise flourished and Burtt Davy was able to retire to England in 1919, returning to Kew and working on A Manual of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Transvaal with Swaziland, Part 1 appearing in 1926 and Part 2 in 1932. The line drawings for this valuable taxonomic work were produced by his wife, Alice Bolton Davy.
He was awarded a Ph.D.from Cambridge
in 1925 and took up the post of lecturer in tropical forest botany at the Imperial Forestry Institute at Oxford
. Here he started work on the series Forest Trees and Timbers of the British Empire. He was awarded a D.Phil. degree by the University in 1937.
He is commemorated in the genus name Burttdavya and in the specific epithets of Aloe davyana, Acacia davyi and Ficus burtt-davyi. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Burtt Davy when citing
a botanical name
.
Joseph Burtt Davy (7 March 1870 Findern
Findern
Findern is a village in south Derbyshire. Although a railway runs through it, there is no station, the nearest stations are Willington, Pear Tree and Derby...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
- 20 August 1940 Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, was a Quaker botanist and agrostologist. He was the first curator of the Forest Herbarium at the Imperial Forestry Institute when it was founded in 1924.
He attended school at Ilkley
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. In 1891 he joined Kew Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
as a technical assistant, leaving shortly after for the USA where he enrolled in the botany department at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. Here he studied agriculture from 1893-96 and took up the post of botanist at the Agricultural Experiment Station in California between 1896-1901, describing the Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
and Gramineae for A Flora of Western Middle California by Willis Linn Jepson
Willis Linn Jepson
Willis Linn Jepson is known as California's most distinguished early botanist. He became interested in botany as a boy and explored adjacent regions. He had come in contact with various botanists before he entered college...
. Here he also met his wife-to-be, Alice Bolton (1863-1953), a native Californian.
In early 1903, he was appointed botanist and agrostologist with the newly founded Transvaal Department of Agriculture. Burtt Davy wasted no time in starting a collection of Transvaal plants, a process by which he acquired an intimate knowledge of the subject. These first specimens came from Meintjieskop
Meintjieskop
Meintjieskop is a hill in Pretoria on which the Union Buildings were constructed.Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, later to become first president of the Transvaal Republic, was the original owner of the farm 'Elandsfontein' on which Meintjieskop stands...
, Irene
Irene, Gauteng
Irene is a small township south of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.-Prehistoric inhabitants:Stone arrowheads and tools, discovered in the Hennops River bed and dating back many years prove that people have been living in the area for a very long time....
and a trip to the western Transvaal - at the time of his retirement in 1913, his collected specimens numbered 14,000.
Burtt Davy's appointment led directly to the founding of the Division of Botany. This later became the Botanical Research Institute (BRI) and then the National Botanical Institute (NBI) in 1989 when it amalgamated with the National Botanic Gardens. Still not content, bureaucracy stepped in once more in 2004 and it was renamed the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
One of Burtt Davy's great interests was the subject of plant introduction, a matter to which he devoted much attention, importing plants and seeds from all over the world. He was responsible for introducing the forage crop, teff
Teff
Eragrostis tef, known as teff, taf , or khak shir , is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa....
, as well as the lawn grass Kikuyu
Pennisetum clandestinum
The tropical grass species Pennisetum clandestinum is known by several common names, most often kikuyu grass, as it is native to the region of East Africa that is home to the Kĩkũyũ tribe. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions...
. He helped establish a maize-breeding centre at Vereeniging and resigned shortly before the publication of his comprehensive work on maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
in 1914.
He moved to his own farm 'Burttholm' near Vereeniging, where he set up a partnership with the Hon. Hugh Wyndham, breeding and growing agricultural seed and Hereford cattle
Hereford (cattle)
Hereford cattle are a beef cattle breed, widely used both in intemperate areas and temperate areas, mainly for meat production.Originally from Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom, more than five million pedigree Hereford Cattle now exist in over 50 countries...
. The enterprise flourished and Burtt Davy was able to retire to England in 1919, returning to Kew and working on A Manual of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Transvaal with Swaziland, Part 1 appearing in 1926 and Part 2 in 1932. The line drawings for this valuable taxonomic work were produced by his wife, Alice Bolton Davy.
He was awarded a Ph.D.from Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1925 and took up the post of lecturer in tropical forest botany at the Imperial Forestry Institute at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. Here he started work on the series Forest Trees and Timbers of the British Empire. He was awarded a D.Phil. degree by the University in 1937.
He is commemorated in the genus name Burttdavya and in the specific epithets of Aloe davyana, Acacia davyi and Ficus burtt-davyi. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Burtt Davy when citing
Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
a botanical name
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
.