Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Australian National Herbarium BIOGRAPHY

Lawrence, Robert W. (1807 - 1833)

Born in England on 18 October 1807, died at 'Formosa', Tasmania, on 18 October 1833.

Arrived in Tasmania in April 1825. Recruited by W.Hooker in 1830 as a collector; forwarded specimens to Kew until 1832. Made the first collections, including the type of Podocarpos lawrencii, from the mountains south west of Launceston, the Western Tiers, which rise close behind his family property 'Formosa'. Instrumental in recruiting Gunn as a collector for Kew. After his untimely death in 1833 his collections were included in Gunn's herbarium; these bear the initials RWL and usually a Lawrence number. His main collection is in K, with some duplicates in G, MANCH, NSW and OXF.

Extracted from: A.E.Orchard (1999) A History of Systematic Botany in Australia, in Flora of Australia Vol.1, 2nd ed., ABRS. [consult for source references]