author

Robert Fortune

1813–1880

A fearless 19th-century plant hunter, he traveled through China and Japan and helped introduce hundreds of new ornamental plants to Western gardens. He is also remembered for his role in moving tea plants and expertise from China to India, a story that still fascinates readers today.

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 worked his way up from apprentice gardener to positions at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Chiswick. His skill as a botanist and horticulturist soon led him far beyond Britain.

Fortune became famous for a series of journeys in China in the 1840s and 1850s, traveling at a time when the country was still difficult for many Europeans to explore. He collected and sent home large numbers of plants, helping popularize species that would become familiar in gardens in Britain and beyond. Sources also credit him with introducing about 250 ornamental plants from East Asia.

He was not only a collector but also a travel writer, turning his experiences into lively books for readers curious about horticulture, trade, and daily life in Asia. Today he is remembered as one of the great plant hunters of the 19th century, with a complicated legacy shaped by both scientific curiosity and the imperial world in which he worked.