William Dallimore


William Dallimore was an English botanist who published a “Handbook of Coniferae” and who played an important role in the start and development of Bedgebury Pinetum.

Career

William Dallimore began his career at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as a student gardener in January 1891. He started working in the arboretum, and was appointed propagator in 1892 and assistant curator in 1896. He devoted special attention to the conifers.
In 1909 Dalllimore was transferred to the Museum staff of Kew. He initiated a museum of forestry, which developed into the Wood Museum later. In 1926 he became the keeper of the Museums of Economic Botany.

”Handbook on Coniferae”

The Handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae was first published in 1923. It would remain a standard work for more than forty years. It was written in cooperation with Albert Bruce Jackson. Bruce Jackson prepared the Keys to Genera and Species for the first two editions. The fourth edition was revised by Sydney Gerald Harrison.
An important characteristic of the “Handbook” is, that it deals with conifers from the point of view of a gardener, forester and student, rather than a botanist. The trees are therefore described in as simple language as possible.
The book deals with all known species, and has quite extensive references to cultivars.

Bedgebury Pinetum

Dallimore played a very important part in starting and developing the National Pinetum at Bedgebury in Kent, a joint undertaking of Kew and the Forestry Commission. He was the first to draw attention to the bad state of the conifers at Kew in the early 1920s. This finally led to the establishment of a new collection in a part of Bedgebury Forest, supervised by Dallimore. On his retirement from Kew in 1936, he moved to Kent, and continued to supervise the work at Bedgebury Pinetum, almost to the time of his death.

Footnotes

Literature