The stapeliads of Philip Miller at the Chelsea Physic Garden

Walker, Colin C. (2018). The stapeliads of Philip Miller at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Asklepios, 125 pp. 12–17.

Abstract

Philip Miller (1691-1771) was superintendent of the Society of Apothecaries at the Chelsea Physic Garden (1722-1770). There he built up an extensive collection of plants which he described in his renowned 'Gardeners Dictionary' that ran for 8 editions (1731-1768).

He successfully grew and flowered 3 stapeliads over a 40 year period. One of these, Stapelia hirsuta, was illustrated in a hand coloured plate published in a separate work entitled 'Figures of the most beautiful, useful and uncommon plants described in the gardeners dictionary' (1755-60).

Miller's lasting legacy lies in the 1,300 species and numerous genera he named and described for the first time, so his work is still relevant today.

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