> [!cite] BHL link: this entry starts at [page 264](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33212306) of TL-2 Vol. VI > Author links: [IPNI](https://www.ipni.org/a/12420-1) LSID 12420-1, [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2065240) QID Q2065240 > Support pages: [[Abbreviations|abbreviations]], [[Layout key|layout key]], [[Cite TL-2|cite TL-2]] ### Author Thiselton-Dyer, William Turner (1843-1928), British botanist; B.A. Oxford 1867, B.Sc. London 1880; professor of natural history, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester 1868-1870; professor of botany, Royal College of Science, Dublin 1870-1872; id. Royal Horticultural Society London 1872, private secretary and editorial assistant to J.D. Hooker 1872; assistant director Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1875-1885; director ib. 1885-1905; in retirement at Witcombe, Gloucestershire; knighted 1899. **Abbreviated name**: *Dyer* \[standard form in IPNI: *Dyer*\] #### Herbarium and types [[Collection K|K]] (including manuscripts, correspondence and field notes; other material at [[Collection DBN|DBN]], [[Collection OXF|OXF]]. – *Letters* e.g. at [[Collection AK|AK]], [[Collection FH|FH]], [[Collection G|G]], [[Collection NY|NY]], [[Collection US|US]] (SIA). #### Bibliography and biography Ainsworth p. 230; Andrews p. 339; Backer p. 187, 582; Barnhart 1: 489 (sub Dyer); BJI 2: 177; BL 1: 54, 63, 118, 321, 2: 244, 256, 339, 723; Blunt p. 183, 186; Bossert p. 398 (b. 28 Jul 1843, d. 23 Dec 1928); Bret. p. 823; Clokie p. 160; CSP 7: 588, 9: 767-768, 12: 728, 19: 79-80; Desmond p. 605; De Toni 1: cxxii; DNB 1922-1930: 830-832; DSB 13: 341-344 (G.L. Geison); Ewan ed. 2: 114; Hortus 3: 1192; Langman p. 734; Lenley p. 409; Morren ed. 2, p. 24, ed. 10, p. 70; MW p. 495-496; PH 164, 567; Quenstedt p. 428; Rehder 5: 247; SIA 189, 221; TL-1/484, 496, 537; TL-2/268, 1290, 1814, 2448, 2627, 2981, 3006, 3218, 7055, 9954; Tucker 1: 685, 3: 307; Zander ed. 10, p. 655, ed. 11, p. 745. #### Biofile - Allan, M., The Hookers of Kew 271 \[index, many refs.\] 1967. - Allen, D.E., The naturalist in Britain 90, 181, 187. 1976. - Anon., Bot. Centralbl. 44: 56. 1886 (app. director Kew), 48: 304. 1891 (Dr. phil. h.c. Leopoldina), 77: 239. 1899 (commander order St. Michael and St. George), 101: 352. 1906 (memb. Amer. philos. Soc); Bot. Zeit. 30: 132. 1872 (prof. bot. R.H.S.; relinquishes Dublin position), 44: 56. 1886 (app. director Kew); Brit. Mus. gen. cat. print. books 58: 354-355. 1960; Bull. misc. Inf. Kew 1929: 32 (d. "Christmas eve", actually on 23 December 1928), 65-75 (obit., portr.); Bull. Torrey bot. Club 12: 132. 1885 (app. director Kew); Flora 52: 62. 1869 (app. Cirencester); Gard. Chron. 1923(2): 52. 1929(1): 1-2 (d.); Hedwigia 69: (95). 1929 (d.);J. Bot. 67: 23. 1929 (d.); J. Hort. Cottage Gard. 11: 562-563. 1885; J. Kew Guild 1929: 715-719 (portr.); Nature 70: 419. 1904, 116: 474-475. 1925 (completion Fl. cap.), \[D.W.T.\] 123: 212-215. 1929 (obit.); Nat. Nov. 7: 272. 1885 (app. director Kew); Österr. bot. Z. 78: 96. 1929 (d.); Pharm. J. Pharmacist 122: 19. 1929 (obit.); Who's who (London) 1898-1929; Who was who (London) 1916-1928: 1033. 1929. - Bower, F.O., Sixty years of botany in Britain 13, 29, 32, 35, 48, 51, 66, 75, 102. 1938. - Britten, J., J. Bot. 39: 80. 1901 (apologizes publicly to W.T.T. for criticism of delay in publ. of Fl. trop. Afr.). - Bullock, A.A., Bibl. S. Afr. bot. 116-117. 1978 (bibl. S. Afr. publ.). - Druce, G.C., Fl. Berkshire clxxvii-clxxviii. 1897, Fl. Buckinghamshire cii. 1926; Bot. Soc. Exch. Cl. Brit. Isl. Rep. 8(5): 819-820. 1929 (obit.). - Fletcher, H.R., Story Roy. Hort. Soc. 1804-1968, p. 220, 235, 252-253, 255. 1969; Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 176, 198, 205, 230. 1970. - Frodin, D.G., Guide standard floras world nos. 00, 501, 510. 1984. - Gage, A.T., Hist. Linn. Soc. London 66, 68, 80, 126. 1938. - Gilmour, J., Brit. bot. 43: 45. 1944. - Green, J.R., Hist. bot. U.K. 484, 506, 515, 517, 523, 528-537, 547, 552, 565-569, 573, 579, 589, 590, 598. 1914. - Hemsley, W.B. et al., Bull. misc. Inf. Kew 62-63. 1905 (address by Kew staff; "herbarium... now second to none in the world"). - Lowden, R.M., Taxon, Index pers. names vols. 1-30. 728. 1985. - Nelmes, E. & W. Cuthbertson, Curtis's Bot. Mag. Dedic. 1827-1927: 345-356 (portr.) (on p. 311: Harriet Ann Hooker, afterwards Lady Thiselton-Dyer). - Oliver, F.W., Makers Brit. bot. 332. 1913 (index); Proc. R. Soc. 106B: xxiii-xxix. 1930. - Pearsall, W.H., Fl. Surrey 53. 1931 (membership Society of Amateur Botanists). - Prain, D., Proc. Linn. Soc. 141: 147-149. 1930. - Rendle, A.B., J. Bot. 67: 54-57. 1929 (obit.). - Scott, D.H. et al., Nature 112: 182. 1923 (80th birthday). - Stearn, W.T., Nat. Hist. Mus. S. Kensington, 296, 300-301. 1981. - Sutton, S.B., Charles Sprague Sargent 381. 1970 \[index\]. - Thiselton-Dyer, W.T., Bull. misc. Inf. Kew 1891: 279-321 (historical account of Kew to 1841). - Thomson, A.D., New Zealand J. Bot. 18: 405-432. 1980 (summary of cont. 3 letters from Cockayne to W.T.T.). - Verdoorn, F., ed., Chron. bot. 1: 80. 1935, 2: 181, 182. 1936, 4: 437, 476. 1938, 5: 281. 1939, 6: 415, 416, 417. 1941, 7: 174, 175, 366. 1943. - Walters, S.M., The shaping of Cambridge botany 67, 71, 81, 83, 84. 1981. - White, A. & B.L. Sloane, Stapelieae ed. 2, p. 12, 113-114, 847, 1086. 1937 (portr.). #### Composite works - (1) Founder, and during his directorship q.q. editor, of *Bull. misc. Inf., Kew* (Kew Bulletin) 1887-1905 (18 vols.). - (2) Editor, \[Curtis's\] *Botanical Magazine* 1905-1906; TL-2/1290. - (3) Assisted A.W. Bennett with the translation of J. v. Sachs, *Lehrb. Bot.* as *Text-book of botany*, ed. 1, 1875, see TL-2/9954. - (4) Editor, W.J. Hooker, *Icon. pl. pl. 2401-2800*, see TL-2/3006. - (5) Editor, B.D. Jackson, *Index kewensis*, suppl. 2(1, 2), 1904, 1905; TL-2/3218. - (6) Contributed to J.D. Hooker, *Fl. Brit. Ind.* 1(2): 246-258. Jan 1874 (*Portulaceae, Tamariscineae, Elatineae, Hypericineae*,), 279-317 (*Ternstroemiaceae, Dipterocarpaceae*). Jan 1874, 5(15): 655-658. (*Cycadaceae*). Dec 1888; TL-2/2981. - (7) Thiselton-Dyer revived the *Flora capensis*, started by Harvey and Sonder (TL-2/2448), but interrupted 1865. W.T.T. took responsibility for the *Flora* from 1891 onwards and under his editorial guidance vols. 4-7 appeared between 1895 and 1925; the supplement to 5(2), by A.W. Hill, came out in 1933 (see Bull. misc. Inf. Kew 1933: 367-368). W.T.T. contributed no treatments of his own. - (8) Editor, D. Oliver, *Fl. trop. Afr.* vols. 4-6(1), 1902-1913. W.T.T. contributed addenda to 4(1), 4(2) and 5; see TL-2/7055. - (9) Co-author with Henry Trimen (senior author). *Fl. Middlesex* 1869, see under H. Trimen. - (10) *Introduction*, to W.J. Bean, *The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew*, historical and descriptive, 1908. #### Name Thiselton-Dyer was frequently called (and addressed) "Dyer" and is occasionally so listed in indexes. G.L. Geison (DSB) states that he "derived his name from his paternal grandfather, William Matthew Thiselton, a printer and barrister who took the additional name Dyer by royal license in 1840". We follow the *Draft index of author abbreviations*... Kew (1980) with respect to the use of "Dyer" as abbreviation. Rendle (1929), who also uses "Dyer" in the obituary, notes that the hyphen in Thiselton-Dyer "was assumed about 1891". #### Note - (1) Thiselton-Dyer's view of the importance of "Kew" was expressed by him to M. Grant Duff (Notes from a diary 1881-1886, 2: 21) on 1 March 1885: "I often think, and have no doubt often said, that we at Kew feel individually the weight of the Empire as a whole, more even than they do in Downing Street". (J. Bot. 41: 61. 1903). - (2) Harriet Ann Thiselton-Dyer (1854-1945), eldest daughter of J.D. Hooker married W.T.T. in 1877, two years after his appointment as assistant director of Kew. Lady Thiselton-Dyer was a botanical artist who contributed ca. 90 drawings to the *Botanical Magazine* between 1878 and 1906 (mostly 1878, 1879). Her work on the Magazine was continued by her cousin, Matilda Smith. - (3) W.T.T.'s brother the Rev. Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer (b. 1848) published *The folk-lore of plants*, London (Chatto & Windus) 1889, American issue New York (D. Appleton and Companion) 1889, publ. Mar-Apr 1889, p. \[i-vii\], \[1\]-328 (*copies*: HH, MO, NY) (reissued 1894), critically reviewed by J. Britten, J. Bot. 27: 122-124. 1889 (note by Britten ib. 30: 224. 1892: "The latter gentleman \[T.F.T.\] is well known as an indefatigable rather than a competent compiler..." – The book was reissued in facsimile 1968 by Singing Tree Press, Detroit, Mich., U.S.A.; *copy*: NY. – Also: *English folklore*, London (Hardwicke & Bogue) 1878, p. \[i\]-viii, \[1\]-290. *Copy*: HH. #### Eponymy *Dyera* J.D. Hooker (1882); *Dyerella* F. Heim (1892); *Dyerocycas* Nakai (1943); *Dyerophytum* O. Kuntze (1891). *Note*: *Thiseltonia* Hemsley (1905) honors G.H. Thiselton-Dyer who collected plants in West Australia. ### Publications ##### n.14.184. On Polygonum nodosum **Title** *On Polygonum nodosum*... \[reprinted from the "Journal of Botany" for February, 1871. Oct. **Notes** *Co-author*: Henry Trimen, 1843-1896. *Publ*.: Feb 1871, p. \[1\]-6. *Copy*: G. – Reprinted and to be cited from J. Bot. 9: 33-38. 1871. ##### n.14.185. On some coniferous remains **Title** *On some coniferous remains* from the lithographic stone of the Solenhofen... Extracted from the Geological Magazine, ix, No. 4. April, 1872. Oct. **Notes** *Publ*.: Apr 1872, p. \[1\]-4. *Copy*: G. – Reprinted and to be cited from Geol. Mag. 9(4): 150-153. 1872. *Cont*.: Mai 1872, p. \[1\]-4, *pl. 5. Copy*: G. – Id. 9(5): 193-196. 1872. ##### n.14.186. A revision of the genera Dryobalanops and Dipterocarpus **Title** *A revision of the genera Dryobalanops and Dipterocarpus*... Extracted from the Journal of Botany for April, 1874. Oct. **Notes** *Publ*.: Apr 1874, p. \[i\]-xii, *pl. 142-145. Copy*: G. – Reprinted and to be cited from J. Bot. 12: 97-108. 1874. ##### n.14.187. Remarks upon M. Vesques new species **Title** *Remarks upon M. Vesques new species*... \[Extracted from the Journal of botany for May, 1874\]. Oct. **Notes** *Publ*.: Mai 1874, p. iv-vi. *Copy*: G. – Reprinted and to be cited from J. Bot. 12: 152-154. 1874. – Part of a 7-page reprint, p. \[i\]-vii, of three papers in J. Bot. 12(5): 149-154. Mai 1874. 1. *Espèces nouvelles du genre Dipterocarpus* par M. Vesque \[Julien Joseph Vesque 1848-1895\] on p. i-iii, J. Bot. 12: 149-152; reprinted from C.R. Acad. Sci., Paris 78: 625-627. 2 Mar 1874. 2. *Remarks*... by W.T.T. on p. iv-vi, see above. 3. *Notes on some Indian Dipterocarpaceae*, by W.T.T., on p. vi-vii, J. Bot. 12: 154. ##### n.14.188. Lecture on plant-distribution **Title** *Lecture on plant-distribution* as a field for geographical research... London (printed by William Clowes and Sons,...) 1878. Oct. **Notes** *Publ*.: 1878, p. \[1\]-36. *Copies*: G(2), MO. – Reprinted and to be cited from Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc 22(6): 412-445. 1878. ##### n.14.189. Cycadaceae of Mexico and Central America **Title** *Cycadaceae of Mexico and Central America*... London (Taylor and Francis,...) 1883. Qu. **Abbreviated title**: *Cycad. Mex. C. Amer.* **Notes** *Publ*.: Nov 1883 (preprint, so dated), p. \[i\], \[190\]-195, *pl. 81-84* (uncol. liths. W.H. Fitch). *Copies*: G, U. – Preprinted from W.B. Hemsley, Biol. Centrali-amer., Bot. 3(16): 190-195, *pl. 81-84.* Feb 1884.