William Bull (botanist)

William Bull
Born1828
Died1 June 1902
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
Scientific career
FieldsBotany, Horticulture

William Bull FLS VMH (1828–1902) was an English botanist, nurseryman and plant collector. He was born in Winchester and in 1861 purchased the nursery of John Weeks and Company in King's Road, Chelsea. He introduced into cultivation many plants from other countries, including orchids from Colombia and Liberia.[2][3] John Carder and Edward Shuttleworth collected plants for William Bull.[4]

The vast stock of the firm William Bull And Sons, headquartered at Kings Road, Chelsea, made it famous worldwide. When Ceylon was struck by a coffee-plant disease, Hemileia vastatrix, it was able to supply planters with a variety called Coffea liberica, which was immune to the disease.[5] With the retirement of Edward Bull in 1916, by then the sole proprietor, the firm closed.[5]

Bull was elected in 1866 a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. In 1897 he received the Victoria Medal of Honour of the Royal Horticultural Society.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Desmond, Ray (1994-02-25). Dictionary of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturists Including plant collectors, flower painters and garden designers. CRC Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780850668438.
  2. ^ "Bull, William (1828-1902)". JSTOR Global Plants. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Obituary - William Bull". The Gardeners' Chronicle. 31 (Series 3): 381. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Carder, John (-1908)". JSTOR Global Plants.
  5. ^ a b End Of Famous Horticultural Firm, The Mail (The Evening Mail), 29 March 1916, p8.
  6. ^ International Plant Names Index.  W.Bull.