George Don Senior

George Don Senior (1764-1814)

George Don FLS

born: 1764 (Menmuir) died: 1814 (Forfar)

George Don developed his life-long interest in natural history at an early age. Whilst training as a gardener at Dupplin House in Perth, he explored the Highlands and made his first plant discoveries, including a small moss Seligeria doniana. His botanical explorations continued throughout his life and his discoveries included Carex saxatilis on Ben Lomond and Bartsia alpina - new to Scotland. Working with John Mackay from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, he undertook a lot of field work, especially in Perthshire; on Ben Lawers, he collected plants which others regarded as weeds. Estäblishing a nursery in Forfar, his expeditions continued - especially to the Grampians and the Clova mountains - adding Cicerbita alpina to the British flora.

Don eventually became Principal Gardener at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1802 and was elected an Associate of the Linnean Society in 1803. He published Herbarium Britannicum between 1804 and 1812. Eventually resigning his post in Edinburgh, he returned to Forfar and his nursery. Dr. Patrick Neill said of Don's garden at Doo Hillock that 'the number, diversity and rarity of the hardy plants cultivated in it are perhaps scarcely to be surpassed in Britain'. In the winter of 1813, he suffered a severe cold and died six weeks later, leaving his family destitute.

Two of his children, George (1798-1856) and David (1799-1841), went on to become prominent collectors and botanists. Although lacking formal education and on the brink of poverty throughout his life, Don earned the respect and friendship of many eminent men. His lifelong dedication to plants made an outstanding contribution to our knowledge of the Scottish flora.

Key Find: Alpine Bartsia - Bartsia alpina

Key Fact: Don passed on his passion for botany to his two sons, who

happily followed in their father's footsteps - although plant hunter George Jr. specialised in rather more exotic climes than his parent, concentrating on Brazil, Sierra Leone and the West Indies rather than the Highlands!