Abbott, Francis   (1834 - 1903)

Born at Derby, England, 18 June, 1834; died at Hobart, 22 November, 1903. Buried at Cornelian Bay Cemetery.

He was appointed Superintendent of Botanical Gardens, Hobart, 8th December, 1859, and was connected with them from the age of 17, having been apprenticed to his predecessor, F. W. Newman. He was a genial, kindly man, full of practical knowledge, never more happy than when he was imparting it to others.

He was the author of the following papers in the Journal of the Royal Society of Tasmania :-
"The Sugar Beet," 1871, p. 31;
"Thistles," 1878, p. 73;
"Wild or Canadian Rice (Zizania aquatica)," 1878, p. 73;
"Notes on New P1ants introduced into the Royal Society's Gardens during 1883, p. 186;
"Notes on a Recent Case of Poisoning caused by the Exhalation of Rhus radicans (Toxicodendron) at the Botanical Gardens, Hobart,” 1886,p. 182;
“Smut in Wheat,” 1889; p. 95.

Source: Maiden, J.H. (1909) Records of Tasmanian botanists. Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania for the year 1909. pp. 9-29.

Arrived Hobart, Tas., 1850. At botanical garden, Hobart, from 1850; appointed superintendent 8 Dec. 1859 (died in office). Collected (chiefly eucalypts) on Mt Wellington, 1879; D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Nov.-Dec. 1893. Specimen (without locality) at NSW. Wrote several short papers on economic botany for Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tas., 1871-89.
Commemorated in Abbottia.
Portrait: Hurburgh (n.d.) p. 67.

Source: George, A.S. (2009) Australian Botanist's Companion, Four Gables Press, WA. [consult for source references]

Collecting localities for 'Abbott, F.' from AVH (2021)

Data from 56 specimens