Bernard Verdcourt

Bernard Verdcourt
Born	(1925-01-20)20 January 1925 Luton,England
Died	25 October 2011(2011-10-25)(aged 86) Maidenhead,Berkshire,England
Nationality	British
Scientific career
Fields	Biology Taxonomy

Bernard Verdcourt(20 January 1925 – 25 October 2011) was abiologistandtaxonomist,most widely known as abotanistand latterly an honorary research fellow at theRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kewin London.Prior to coming to Kew in 1964, he was associated with the East African Herbarium for 15 years. Although his best-known work probably consists of his many studies of the East Africanflora,he has also made extensive contributions relating to African terrestrialmollusksand toentomology.Dr. Verdcourt received the Linnean Medal for botany from theLinnean Society of Londonin 2000.His list of publications includes more than 1,000scientific works.The standardauthor abbreviationVerdc.is used to indicate this person as the author whencitingabotanical name.

Eponymy

In 2012, botanists H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi publishedVerdesmumis amonotypic genusofflowering plantsfrom Malaysia belonging to the familyFabaceae,it was named in Bernard Verdcourt's honour. In Rubiaceae, the namesChlorochorionRobbr. & Puff andTricalysia verdcourtianaRobbr. are dedicated to him.

Selected major works

• Verdcourt, B. (1951–1957).Notes on the snails of north-eastTanganyika Territory.[Eight parts]
• Verdcourt, B. et al. (1956–1995).Flora of Tropical East Africa.Kew Bulletin and other publications. [Accounts of 71families]
• Verdcourt B. (1958) Remarks on the classification of the Rubiaceae. Bull. Jard. Bot. Etat, Brux. 28: 209–281.
• Verdcourt, B. et al. (2001–2005).Flora of Tropical East Africa.Rotterdam: Balkema. [Accounts of 12 families]