James ('Jim') Boughtwood Comber (1929 – 7 September 2005) was born at

Garlieston Garlieston (, IPA: �paləʝeaːᵲʎis̪ is a small planned coastal village in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. It was founded in the mid 18th century by Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Gallo ...

, Scotland, into a famous

horticultural Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

family. His father was the noted collector and lily breeder

Harold Frederick Comber Harold Frederick Comber ALS (31 December 1897 – 23 April 1969) was an English horticulturist and plant collector who was to specialise in the study of lilies ''Lilium'' sp. The eldest child of three, and only son of James and Ethel Comber, he w ...

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

, while his grandfather, James Comber VMH was Head Gardener at Nymans. His brother Richard gained a PhD in plant biochemistry. from Southampton University in 1955. His sister, Mary Comber-Miles, became the resident botanical artist at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

.Hsu, E. (2011). Harold Comber and his introductions. ''The Plantsman'', Vol. 10, Part 4, Dec. 2011.

Career

On leaving school, Comber worked briefly for the seed company of Sutton & Son at Reading before beginning an apprenticeship at the

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

in 1951.

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

interrupted his training, but his posting to Singapore was to inspire his 35-year career in South East Asia and interest in its flora. After National Service, Comber returned to Kew, completing his course in 1955. Later that year he was given leave to join Anglo-Indonesian Plantations (AIP) in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. After resuming studies at degree level, he graduated in 1960, whereupon he accepted the post of Assistant Manager with AIP at the Sapang rubber plantation in

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

(then

British North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally establish ...

but part of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

from 1963), later becoming Manager, and spending much of his leisure time collecting and photographing orchids.Burgess, G. (2005) James (Jim) Boughtwood Comber 1929-2005. ''The Journal of the Kew Guild''. Vol. 14, No. 110, 2005. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. During this time, Comber formed a close and philanthropic association with the native population, taking much interest in their culture and learning local languages. However, much of this period coincided with the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation over the sovereignty of the region, and Comber's activities were to arouse the suspicions of the authorities as many of his workforce had come from Indonesia. He was declared persona non grata. Comber eventually moved in 1971 to the post of

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

with

Ciba-Geigy Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024. Novartis manufactures the drugs ...

near

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

, and later Thailand, during which time he was able to further his knowledge of the hundreds of orchid species. Comber was to write three books, and numerous articles for orchid journals, about the orchids of South-east Asia (see 'Works'), describing well over 1000 species, all illustrated with photographs he had taken; the publication by the RBG Kew of one of these tomes, ''The Orchids of Java'', he personally funded. He inevitably discovered many new species, and two are named in his honour: ''

Sarcoglyphis comberi ''Sarcoglyphis'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Himalayas and southern China. Species currently accepted as of June 2014: #'' Sarcoglyphis arunachalensis'' A.N.Rao - Aruna ...

'' J. J. Wood and ''

Bulbophyllum comberi ''Bulbophyllum comberi'' is a species of orchid in the genus ''Bulbophyllum ''Bulbophyllum'' is a genus of mostly Epiphyte, epiphytic and Lithophyte, lithophytic orchids in the Family (biology), family Orchidaceae. It is the largest genus in t ...

'' J. J. Vermeulen.Comber, J. B. (1990). ''Orchids of Java''. RBG Kew. Comber retired in 1991, returning to the UK and settling in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Death

James Comber died suddenly at his home in Southampton on 7 September 2005 following a knee operation.

Personal life

Comber married Riam Tiekseeboon shortly before his retirement; they had two children, Elizabeth and John.

Works

* Comber, J. B. (1981). ''Wayside Orchids of South-east Asia''. Heinemann-Asia, Kuala-Lumpur. * Comber, J. B. (1990). ''Orchids of Java''. RBG Kew. * Comber, J. B. (2001). ''Orchids of Sumatra''. RBG Kew / Natural History Publications, Kota Kinabalu.

Career

Death

Personal life

Works

References

Notes