James Macrae (botanist)

James Macrae was a Scottish botanist.

Early life

Career

Voyage of H.M.S. Blonde

In 1824, James Macrae was sent by the Royal Horticultural Society,^[1] aboard the H.M.S Blonde^[2] to gather botanical and agricultural information, collect plants and give seeds to Hawaiians. Another naturalist Andrew Bloxam whose brother Rowland was ship's chaplain.^[3] Ship's artist Robert Dampier also made several important paintings on the voyage.^[4] Maria Graham (later, Maria Callcott) wrote a book about the voyage of the H.M.S. Blonde including an account of the voyage and funeral ceremony for the Hawaiian sovereigns whose bodies were being returned to the Kingdom of Hawai'i.^[5]

After the specimen hunting voyage to the Kingdom of Hawai'i, Macrae was sent to Ceylon to work at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya.

Death

James Macrae died in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1830.

Written works

The standard author abbreviation J.Macrae is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.^[6]

References

1. James Macrae (2019). Brian Richardson (ed.). The Journal of James Macrae, Botanist at the Sandwich Islands, 1825. Univ. of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824883157.
2. James Macrae (1922). William Frederick Wilson (ed.). With Lord Byron at the Sandwich Islands in 1825: Being Extracts from the MS Diary of James Macrae, Scottish Botanist. ISBN 978-0-554-60526-5.
3. Andrew Bloxam (1925). Diary of Andrew Bloxam: naturalist of the Blonde on her trip from England to the Hawaiian islands, 1824-25. Volume 10 of Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication.
4. Robert Dampier (1971). To the Sandwich Islands on H.M.S. Blonde. University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu. ISBN 978-0-87022-176-7.
5. James Macrae (2019). Brian Richardson (ed.). The Journal of James Macrae, Botanist at the Sandwich Islands, 1825. Univ. of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824883157.
6. International Plant Names Index.  J.Macrae.