Frederick Sander (1847–1920), known as the "Orchid King," revolutionized the orchid industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by creating a massive, organized, and global network for collecting, importing, and hybridizing orchid species
. Based in St. Albans, England, and later Bruges, Belgium, his firm was the largest of its kind, with over 250 greenhouses.
Key Contributions to Orchid Collecting:
Global Collector Network: Sander employed a "legion" of professional plant hunters tasked with traveling to remote, often dangerous, regions worldwide to find new, rare, and exotic orchid species.
Mass Importation and Cultivation: He developed efficient methods for transporting and cultivating orchids, which had previously suffered from high mortality rates during shipping. His nurseries, such as the one in St. Albans, were massive, with the orchid section alone containing fifty houses.
"Orchidelirium" Promotion: Sander played a major role in the Victorian "orchidelirium" craze, supplying orchids to kings, nobles, and wealthy collectors globally.
Reichenbachia Publication: He produced Reichenbachia, a landmark two-volume, folio-sized publication featuring life-sized, illustrated depictions of orchids in three languages, which became a masterpiece in botanical illustration.
Naming and Identification: He was closely associated with top botanists like Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach, who named Vanda sanderiana (the "Queen of Philippine Orchids") in his honor.
Hybridization and Standardization: Sander was not only a collector but a pioneer in breeding. His firm created numerous hybrids and established the Sanders List of Orchid Hybrids, which became the definitive, internationally recognized record for over 100 years.