Peter Christian Massyn Veitch (February 1850 – 1929) was a member of the family of
horticulturist
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 ...
s who established the renowned family business
Veitch Nurseries
The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into ...
.
Early days
Veitch was the son of
Robert Veitch and was born in the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, where his father was farming, before his father returned to England to join the family nursery company in 1856.
In 1867, he was employed by the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
branch of the family business under his uncle
James Veitch Jr., working at the
Coombe Wood nurseries as an assistant nurseryman in the "Trees & Shrubs" department, before transferring to work in the "New Plant" department at
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...
, where he stayed until 1869. He was then sent to a seed-growing establishment in Germany, and then to a seed-house in France for six months, before returning to Chelsea.
Plant hunting
By 1875,
James Veitch & Sons
The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into ...
was under the control of Peter's cousin,
Harry Veitch
Sir Harry James Veitch (24 June 1840 – 6 July 1924) was an English horticulturist in the nineteenth century, who was the head of the family nursery business, James Veitch & Sons, based in Chelsea, London. He was instrumental in establishing ...
, who dispatched him "to visit, on behalf of the firm, the clients in Australasia, and, at the same time, introduce to England any plants likely to be of value for horticultural purposes."
Peter left England in 1875 for
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, by the long sea route. He spent little time there, before leaving for
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 ...
, having an offer to sail in H.M. schooner "Renard". Several months were spent in visiting the various islands of the Fiji group and in collecting plants. In February 1876, a trading vessel having called at Fiji, Veitch secured a passage and proceeded to the
South Sea Islands, where he remained until the following September. The whole of the collection of plants made in the Fiji Islands was lost in a gale, but that from the South Sea Islands was despatched to England in 1877.
From September to December 1876 he made excursions to various parts of the Australian Colonies, where he found various
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 including ''
Lomaria discolor'', ''L. discolor bipinnatifida'' and ''
Microlepia
''Microlepia'' is a genus of ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae described as a genus in 1836. Most of the species are native to Asia, with many endemic to China, although a few species occur also in Australia, Africa, the West Indies, Latin Ame ...
hirta cristata'', which were sent to England for cultivation.
During the early part of 1877, a visit was made to
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, including visiting
Mount Cook, where seeds of the beautiful ''
Ranunculus lyalli'' were gathered and sent to Chelsea, from which plants were raised and flowered. From other parts of New Zealand several species of
Celmisia and
Veronica were introduced, as well as "the beautiful and somewhat difficult" ''
Notospartium carmichaeliae''.
In June 1877, Veitch again visited Australia, but in August, as he was making his way to
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, he had the misfortune to be shipwrecked off the north coast of Australia, and once again the collections were lost.
His 1877–78 exploration of
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...
in Borneo with
Frederick William Burbidge
Frederick William Thomas Burbidge (1847–1905) was a British explorer who collected many rare tropical plants for the famous Veitch Nurseries.
Biography
Burbidge was born at Wymeswold, Leicestershire, on 21 March 1847, was son of Thomas Burbid ...
yielded many extraordinary carnivorous ''
Nepenthes
''Nepenthes'' ( ) is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are m ...
''. Amongst the species they also re-discovered was ''
Paphiopedilum dayanum'', which had been originally discovered by Sir
Hugh Low
Sir Hugh Low, (10 May 182418 April 1905) was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he was appointed as British administrator in the Malay Peninsula where he made the first t ...
in 1858. In the spring of 1878, he returned to Chelsea, bringing with him the collection that he had made in Borneo in company with Burbidge.
Robert Veitch & Sons
In 1880, he joined his father in the
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
branch of the family business, bringing his experiences of French and German nurseries into the company as well as an element of flair from the Chelsea nursery. Peter Veitch was a plantsman with a keen interest in trees and shrubs which he turned into a speciality for the Exeter nurseries. When his father died in 1885 Peter became head of the Exeter nurseries and played a very active part in the life of the city. He was a keen sportsman, a Governor of the
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (commonly referred to as RD&E), and with a main site sometimes known as Wonford Hospital, is a large teaching hospital situated in Exeter, Devon, England, and is run by the Royal Devon University Healthcare NH ...
, and served on a number of committees.
In 1907, he succeeded in
crossing ''
Magnolia campbellii
''Magnolia campbellii'', or Campbell's magnolia, is a species of '' Magnolia'' that grows in sheltered valleys in the Himalaya from eastern Nepal, Sikkim and Assam, India, east to southwestern China (southern Xizang, Yunnan, southern Sichuan) an ...
'' (with striking, large, saucer-shaped pink flowers) and ''
Magnolia denudata
''Magnolia denudata'', the lilytree or Yulan magnolia (), is native to central and eastern China. It has been cultivated in Chinese Buddhist temple gardens since 600 AD. Its flowers were regarded as a symbol of purity in the Tang dynasty and it ...
'' (which has erect, cup-shaped, lemon-scented flowers and pristine white petals which are thick and fleshy) to produce ''Magnolia x veitchii'', with purple-pink flowers. In 1971, the plant was given the cultivar name "''Peter Veitch''" in honour of its raiser and to differentiate it from the white flowered cultivar "''Isca''".
In 1917 he was awarded the
Victoria Medal of Honour
The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society.
The award was established in 1897 "in per ...
, the second member of the family to be so honoured following his cousin
Harry in 1906.
Following Peter's death in 1929, the Exeter nurseries were run by his daughter
Anna Mildred (1889 – 1971), who continued to operate the business until shortly before she died.
Family
He was married to Harriett Drew, and amongst their children was Major John Leonard Veitch
M.C., who was killed in
northern France on 21 May 1918, aged 31. He is buried at the
Thiennes British Military Cemetery.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Veitch, Peter
English botanists
English horticulturists
1850 births
1929 deaths
People from the Western Cape
Veitch Nurseries
Victoria Medal of Honour recipients