Biography

British gardener, naturalist and collector from Wymeswold, Leicestershire, known mainly for his work on horticultural plants. He trained as a gardener at Kew (1868-1870) and joined the staff of the Garden magazine (1873-1877). Burbidge travelled to North Borneo (Sabah) for the Veitch nurseries where he collected horticultural plants including orchids and pitcher plants, also making some ornithological collections. During his exploration of Mt. Kinabalu he resorted to drinking water from the insect-laden pitchers of Nepenthes when other sources of drinking water were unavailable. He returned to England but soon moved to Ireland where he became Curator of the Trinity College Botanical Garden, Dublin (1879-1905), receiving an honorary MA from Dublin (1889). Plants named in his honour include the genus Burbidgea Hook. f. in the Zingiberaceae and many species such as Globba burbidgei Ridl. and Bauhinia burbidgei Stapf. Burbidge discovered and named Nepenthes burbidgeae Hook. f. ex Burb. in honour of his wife Maria Burbidge, describing the pitchers as "egg shell porcelain blotched with crimson red". The orchid Phalaenopsis mariae Burbidge ex Warner & Williams was also named after his wife.

Biography

British gardener, naturalist and collector from Wymeswold, Leicestershire, known mainly for his work on horticultural plants. He trained as a gardener at Kew (1868-1870) and joined the staff of the Garden magazine (1873-1877). Burbidge travelled to North Borneo (Sabah) for the Veitch nurseries where he collected horticultural plants including orchids and pitcher plants, also making some ornithological collections. During his exploration of Mt. Kinabalu he resorted to drinking water from the insect-laden pitchers of Nepenthes when other sources of drinking water were unavailable. He returned to England but soon moved to Ireland where he became Curator of the Trinity College Botanical Garden, Dublin (1879-1905), receiving an honorary MA from Dublin (1889). Plants named in his honour include the genus Burbidgea Hook. f. in the Zingiberaceae and many species such as Globba burbidgei Ridl. and Bauhinia burbidgei Stapf. Burbidge discovered and named Nepenthes burbidgeae Hook. f. ex Burb. in honour of his wife Maria Burbidge, describing the pitchers as "egg shell porcelain blotched with crimson red". The orchid Phalaenopsis mariae Burbidge ex Warner & Williams was also named after his wife.