Collectanea
for a Flora of Moray, George Gordon, 1839George Gordon was many things - geologist and naturalist as well as botanist. His father was a minister at Glenlivet, then at Urquhart, and his mother's father was minister at Birnie. He went to University at Aberdeen at the age of fourteen in 1815, graduated four years later and was immediately appointed to Birnie parish where he remained for fifty-seven years.
His first publication of Moray flora, Collectanea for a Flora of Moray, was in 1839, and covered an area which included part of Banffshire, all of Moray and Nairn, and a large part of Inverness-Shire.
Collectanea
for a Flora of Moray, George Gordon, 1839
Extracts
from pages of Gordon's Collectanea showing localities for heathers, and
other species. The entry for Pyrola uniflora (Moneses uniflora) is
interesting as it contradicts the assertion that the species was first
discovered in Moray by James Barlow Hoy of Fochabers in
1792. Perhaps botanists then were just as competitive as they are
now!
George Gordon was ably helped in his recording and collecting of flora by others, including William Brand, Rev George Wilson (who was schoolmaster at Alves), and Rev James Fraser, also of Alves.
Parts
of a letter from George Wilson of Alves to George Gordon, dated January 23rd
1832. It talks about many things, including receipt of a packet of alpine
plants, and an attempt to supply specimens of a species of Juncus maritimus
(which grows commonly in many of the coastal sand dunes). Shown below are
the signature and address portions of the letter.
Both Wilson and Fraser contributed to the Innes Herbarium as well (see Dr. John G Innes).