| Name | Masson, Francis |
| Date of birth | 1741 |
| Date of death | 1805 |
| Remarks | "b. Aberdeen, Aug 1741; d. Montreal, 23 Dec 1805. Scottish botanist & gardener, and Kew Gardens’ first plant hunter, in the 1760s he went to work at Kew Gardens as an under-gardener. Masson was the first plant collector to be sent from Kew by the newly-appointed director Sir Joseph Banks. He sailed with James Cook on HMS Resolution to South Africa, landing in Oct 1772. He stayed until 1775 and sent back to England over 500 plant species. In 1776 he went to Madeira, Canary Islands, the Azores and the Antilles. In 1783 he collected plants in Portugal and in Jan 1786 returned to South Africa, remaining until Mar 1795. In Sep 1797 he set sail for North America, arriving in New York in December. In the next few years he travelled widely collecting plants and seeds, visiting Niagara Peninsula and Lake Ontario. He died in Montreal in Dec 1805, and he was buried there at the Scottish Presbyterian Church ("St. Gabriel St. Church"). He discovered in excess of 1700 new species" (vide B. Bates) [author note: Herbarium and types: BM (through Banks); additional specimens at BR, CGE, DBN, HAL, LD, LINN, MO, PH, UPS Eponymy: Massonia; Crassula alpestris ssp. massonii (Britt. & Bak.f.) Toelken, J. S. Afr. Bot. 41(2): 93 (1975)] [collector note: N. Africa (1783): BM; S. Africa: BM, CGE, G, LINN, MANCH, MO, OXF, PH?, UPS; Azores: BM, US; Canada: BM; Canary Is: BM, S, UPS; Europe: BR; Madeira: BM, LD, MO, UPS; Portugal & Spain: BM; West Indies: BM, CGE, MO (St. Kitts), S; collections: HAL, LE, PH] |
| URL | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Masson |
| ASA Botanist ID | 101445 botanist |
| GUID | http://purl.oclc.org/net/edu.harvard.huh/guid/uuid/bdecf281-d757-453a-b2a5-f8ef6b302cf8 |
| Variant name | Francis Masson |
| Author name | Masson |
| B & P Author Abbrev. | Masson |
| Standard/Label Name | F. Masson |
| Full Name | Masson, Francis |
| Geography Author | Canada, Canary Islands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, United States of America |
| Geography Collector | Canada, Canary Islands, Jamaica, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Africa, Spain |
| Specialty Author | Spermatophytes |
| Specialty Collector | Phanerogams |
| Specialty Collector | Pteridophytes |
| Citation as Author | Authors of Plant Names. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Citation as Author | Taxonomic Literature. Second Edition. Utrecht |
| Citation as Author | A. W. L. Squire, “Who was he.” Bull. Afr. Succ. Pl. Soc. 3(4): 140, 142. 1968 |
| Citation as Author | B. Henrey, British botanical and horticultural literature before 1800 2: 250-253. 1975 |
| Citation as Author | M. Hadfield, British gardeners: 200-201. 1980 (portrait) |
| Citation as Author | M. Gunn & L. E. Codd, Botanical exploration of southern Africa: 246-249. 1981 (portrait) |
| Citation as Author | G. D. Rowley, A history of succulent plants: 123-124, 375. 1997 |
| Citation as Author | M. Sajeva in F. Masson, Appendix in Stapelieae novae (facsimile): 115-129. 1998 |
| Citation as Author | L. W. Mitich. Francis Masson – Gardener, explorer, botanical collector, artist, and author. Suppl. Cact. Succ. J. 71(2): 23-24. 1999 |
| Citation as Author | A. C. Saltmarsh, Francis Masson: Collecting plants for King and country. Bot. Mag. 20(4): 225-244. 2003 |
| Citation as Author | pers. comm. from B. Bates |
| Citation as Collector | Index Herbariorum - Collectors M |
| Citation as Collector | TL2 6: 310. 1986. |
| Author in | Stapel. Nov. |
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