William Dunlop Brackenridge (1810–1893) was a British-American nurseryman and botanist. Brackenridge emigrated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1837, where he was employed by Robert Buist, nurseryman. He was appointed horticulturalist, then assistant botanist, for the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

from 1838 to 1842. Originally, the well-known botanist

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

was to be the chief botanist, and William Rich, a Washington, DC socialite and son of an ambassador, was politically appointed as his assistant. However, Gray never went on the expedition due to taking an academic job, and Rich was appointed botanist, so they needed a new assistant. Rich was reportedly of little use on the trip, and Brackenridge did almost all the collecting and serious botany work. Brackenridge was assigned to the U.S. Ship Vincennes. In 1839, he collected plants in the Sydney and Hunter River districts of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. From 1841 to 1842, the ships explored the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and California coasts, with trips inland. After returning, he continued working with the collected plants and wrote the fern report for the expedition, included in the overall botanical report written by

. After 1855, he lived in Baltimore and worked as a nurseryman and landscape architect. Near

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( ; Shasta people, Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk language, Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a Volcano#Volcanic activity, potentially active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. A ...

, he discovered the California Pitcher Plant, ''

Darlingtonia californica ''Darlingtonia californica'' —also called the California pitcher plant, the Oregon pitcher plant, cobra lily or cobra plant—is a species of carnivorous plant in the new world pitcher plant family, Sarraceniaceae. It is the sole species wit ...

'', one of the noted successes of the expedition.

John Torrey John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...

chose the genus name to honor his friend,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

botanist

William Darlington William Darlington (April 28, 1782 – April 23, 1863) was an American physician, botanist, and politician who served as a Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd cong ...

. Brackenridge Passage in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

is named for him. Reports of the day indicate that Brackenridge was a hardy, strapping six-footer. He and his wife Isobel were Presbyterians. They had at least four children: Agnes (1846), Robert Buist (1847), William D. (1850), and Jane Henderson Brackenridge (1854).

Plants named for W. D. Brackenridge

*The plant genus '' Brackenridgea'' A. Gray, in the

Ochnaceae Ochnaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Malpighiales.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: Ontario, Can ...

(

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and Australia) *The

tree fern Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...

''Cyathea brackenridgei'' Mett. (

Cyatheaceae The Cyatheaceae are a family of ferns, the scaly tree ferns, one of eight families in the order Cyatheales in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Alternatively, the family may defined much more broadly (Cyatheaceae ...

)

Plants named by W. D. Brackenridge

(list not inclusive) *''Diclidopteris'' Brack. (genus) *''Diellia'' Brack. (genus; now included in ''

Asplenium ''Asplenium'' is a genus of about 700 species of ferns, often treated as the only genus in the family (biology), family Aspleniaceae, though other authors consider ''Hymenasplenium'' separate, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of DNA seque ...

'' L.) *''Onychium densum'' Brack.: now ''

Aspidotis densa ''Aspidotis'' is a small genus of leptosporangiate ferns known commonly as laceferns. Most species are native to slopes, ridges, and rocky outcroppings, primarily in California and Mexico, although one species included in the genus by some auth ...

'' (Brack.) Lellinger *''Antrophyum subfalcatum'' Brack. *''Cyrtogonium palustre'' Brack.: now ''Bolbitis palustris'' (Brack.) Hennipman *''Sitolobium samoense'' Brack.: now ''Dennstaedtia samoensis'' ( Brack.)

T.Moore Thomas Moore (21 May 1821 – 1 January 1887) was a British gardener and botanist. An expert on ferns and fern allies from the British Isles, he served as Curator of the Society of Apothecaries Garden from 1848 to 1887. In 1855, Moore authored ''T ...

*''Gymnogramma pilosa'' Brack.: now ''Coniogramme pilosa'' (Brack.) Hieron. *''Blechnum coriaceum'' (Brack.) Brownlie *''Blechnum vittatum'' Brack. *''Polypodium sarmentosum'' Brack.: now ''Adenophorus sarmentosus'' ( Brack. ) K.Wilson *''Goniopteris costata'' Brack.: now ''Pneumatopteris costata'' (Brack.) Holtt. *''Lastrea attenuata'' Brack.: now ''Plesioneuron attenuatum'' (Brack.) Holtt. *''Goniopteris glandulifera'' Brack.: now ''Pneumatopteris glandulifera'' (Brack.) Holtt. *''Elaphoglossum intermedium'' Brack. *''Oleandra hirta'' Brack.

Works by W. D. Brackenridge

*Brackenridge, William Dunlop. United States Exploring Edition Report, Volume XVI - Botany - Filices. 1854. *Brackenridge, William Dunlop. United States Exploring Edition Report, Volume XVI - Botany - Filices: Atlas. 1856.

References

*Engraving of W. D. Brackenridge: Frontispiece, ''The Gardener’s Monthly and Horticulturist: Devoted to Horticulture, Agriculture and Rural Affairs'', 26:312. December 1884.
William Dunlop Brackenridge Papers, circa 1838-1875 in Smithsonian Institution Archives:Bornholdt, Mariana D. "Botanizing Western Oregon In 1841 – The Wilkes Inland Expedition":
*Journal of William Dunlop Brackenridge for October, 1841: ''California Historical Society Quarterly'', 24(4):326-336. December, 1945.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brackenridge, William Dunlop British botanists Pteridologists 1893 deaths 1810 births American horticulturists British horticulturists People of the United States Exploring Expedition People from Ayr Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish Presbyterians 19th-century American botanists

Plants named for W. D. Brackenridge

Plants named by W. D. Brackenridge

Works by W. D. Brackenridge

See also

References

External links