Leslie Charles Leach
Encyclopedia
Leslie Charles Leach "Larry" (18 November 1909 Southend - 18 July 1996 Pietersburg) was a Rhodesian taxonomic botanist.
Leach arrived in Rhodesia in 1938 and carried on business in Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
as an electrical engineer. He developed an interest in succulent plants, particularly Stapeliae
Stapeliae
The genera of plants within the tribe Stapeliae are all to varying degrees stem succulents. Many of the species resemble cacti, though are not closely related, as an example of convergent evolution. The stems are often angular, mostly four-angled in cross-section, but in some species there are...
, Euphorbieae
Euphorbieae
Euphorbieae is a tribe of flowering plants of the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprises 3 subtribes and 6 genera.-Genera:* Subtribe Anthosteminae** Anthostema A.Juss.** Dichostemma Pierre* Subtribe Euphorbiinae** Cubanthus Millsp....
and the genus Aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
. He gave up the business world in 1956 and devoted himself to a self-financed taxonomic study of the three groups with a special interest in the "Flora Zambesiaca" region. He collected extensively in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, also covering Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Between 1972-81 Leach worked as Honorary Botanist of the staff of Rhodesia's National Herbarium and described himself as 'probably Rhodesia's only unpaid civil servant'. He coerced the Aloe, Cactus and Succulent Society of Rhodesia into producing a taxonomic series supplementary to Excelsa. Consequently four volumes, including monographs of the Stapeliae
Stapeliae
The genera of plants within the tribe Stapeliae are all to varying degrees stem succulents. Many of the species resemble cacti, though are not closely related, as an example of convergent evolution. The stems are often angular, mostly four-angled in cross-section, but in some species there are...
, Orbea, Stapelia
Stapelia
The genus Stapelia consists of around 40 species of low growing, spineless, stem succulent plants, predominantly from South Africa. The flowers of certain species, most notably Stapelia gigantea, can reach 41 cm in diameter when fully open...
, Huernia
Huernia
The genus Huernia The genus Huernia The genus Huernia (family Asclepiadaceae consists of some (30-)60 species of stem succulents from Eastern and Southern Africa. The flowers are five-lobed, usually somewhat more funnel- or bell-shaped than in the closely related genus Stapelia, and often striped...
and Tridentea
Tridentea
Tridentea is a genus of plant in family Asclepiadaceae.Species include:* Tridentea pachyrrhiza, L.C.Leach...
, were authored by Leach and published between 1878-88.
In 1981 he settled in South Africa, working at the National Botanic Garden at Worcester
Worcester, Western Cape
Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 km north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg....
from 1982-89, and finishing his work on the succulent Stapeliae
Stapeliae
The genera of plants within the tribe Stapeliae are all to varying degrees stem succulents. Many of the species resemble cacti, though are not closely related, as an example of convergent evolution. The stems are often angular, mostly four-angled in cross-section, but in some species there are...
of Southern Africa, publishing the results in Excelsa.
From 1990 he worked as Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Botany at the University of the North near Pietersburg, where, before his death, he worked on the succulent Euphorbieae
Euphorbieae
Euphorbieae is a tribe of flowering plants of the family Euphorbiaceae. It comprises 3 subtribes and 6 genera.-Genera:* Subtribe Anthosteminae** Anthostema A.Juss.** Dichostemma Pierre* Subtribe Euphorbiinae** Cubanthus Millsp....
for Flora Zambeziaca.
He was awarded the Harry Bolus
Harry Bolus
Harry Bolus was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the and bequeathing his library and a large part of his fortune to the South African College...
Medal by the Botanical Society of Southern Africa in 1968, the Rhodesia Scientific Association's Gold Medal in 1977 and had fellowship of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America
Cactus and Succulent Society of America
The Cactus and Succulent Society of America was founded in 1929 in Pasadena, California and has grown to encompass over 80 affiliated clubs and thousands of members worldwide...
conferred in 1983.
He is commemorated in numerous specific names such as Aloe leachii Reynolds, Huernia leachii Lavranos, Dombeya leachii Wild, the Asclepiad genus Larryleachia
Larryleachia
Larryleachia is a genus of plant in family Asclepiadaceae.Species include:* Larryleachia cactiformis, Plowes* Larryleachia marlothi, Plowes* Larryleachia perlata, Plowes...
and the Choreocolacaceae genus Leachiella Plowes. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation L.C.Leach 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...
.