author

Robert Fortune

1813–1880

A daring 19th-century plant hunter, this Scottish botanist traveled through China and Japan collecting species that transformed Western gardens and helped reshape the tea industry in India.

1 Audiobook

Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China Including a visit to the tea, silk, and cotton countries; with an account of the agriculture and horticulture of the Chinese, new plants, etc.

Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China Including a visit to the tea, silk, and cotton countries; with an account of the agriculture and horticulture of the Chinese, new plants, etc.

by Robert Fortune

About the author

Born in Berwickshire, Scotland, Robert Fortune became a skilled gardener before working at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and later at the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Chiswick. In the 1840s, soon after China opened more widely to British visitors, he was sent abroad to collect plants and study horticulture firsthand.

Those journeys made him famous. Fortune introduced many ornamental plants to Britain and other countries, and he is especially remembered for his work with tea: he gathered tea plants and practical knowledge of cultivation in China, and his efforts helped the development of tea growing in India. He also wrote popular travel books that mixed botanical observation with stories from his expeditions.

His life still stands out for its mix of science, travel, and adventure. Even now, he is remembered not just as a botanist, but as one of the great plant collectors of the 19th century.