James Brodie of Brodie, 21st

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

and Chief of

Clan Brodie Clan Brodie is a Scottish clan whose origins are uncertain. The first known Brodie Clan chief, chiefs were the thegn, Thanes of Brodie and Dyke in Morayshire. The Brodies were present in several clan conflicts and, during the Wars of the Three ...

, FRS FLS (31 August 1744 – 17 January 1824) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

politician and

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. He was educated at Elgin Academy and St. Andrews University. He was returned to parliament in 1796 as MP for Elginshire, serving until 1807. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Nairn. As a botanist, Brodie specialised in

cryptogam A cryptogam (scientific name ''Cryptogamae'') is a plant, in the broad sense of the word, or a plant-like organism that share similar characteristics, such as being multicellular, photosynthetic, and primarily immobile, that reproduces via sp ...

ic flora, i.e. plants which reproduce by

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s, such as

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es. He discovered a number of new species both around Edinburgh and on his own property at Brodie. His collection is now held at the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. He corresponded with other eminent botanists of his time, including Sir

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botany, botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew Gardens, Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botan ...

and Sir James Edward Smith. Brodie was elected a Fellow of the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

in 1795, and of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1797. The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Brodiaea ''Brodiaea'' , also known by the common name cluster-lilies, is a monocot genus of flowering plants. One school of thought places the genus in the family , while another school of thought places it in the subfamily Brodiaeoideae of the family ...

'' is named in his honour. He married Lady Margaret Duff, sister of

James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (29 September 1729 – 1809) was a Scottish aristocrat and Member of Parliament. Heritage James Duff was second son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and Jean Grant (daughter of Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, Baron ...

, and had two sons and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodie, James 1744 births 1824 deaths People from Moray Alumni of the University of St Andrews 18th-century Scottish botanists 19th-century Scottish botanists British phycologists British bryologists British pteridologists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish clan chiefs Lord-lieutenants of Nairn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 People educated at Elgin Academy, Moray