William Boxall ( 1844 - 1910 )

By the turn of the century ,plant hunters had literally comed the forest and mountains of the world in their quest for rare and desirable forest and mountains of the world in their quest for rare and desirable orchid novelties. Only the most resourceful and knowledgeable collector could yet make a comforable living in the trade. For a few, however ,the adventure and satisfaction of exploration satisfied inner desires. Among such venturous souls, William Boxall was perhaps the best known and beloved of a singularly unique class of veteran orchidists.

Little is known of Boxall's early life beyond the year of his birth-1844. In the early 1860s he was employed by the Veitch firm at Chelsea and worked at Highwood. Later he was hired as foreman of the orchid department at Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., at Clapton.

Boxall's knowledge of orchids together with his great love for plants were quickly recognized hy his empoyers as the qualities desirable in a good collector . Thus he was sent to Burma to try his luck at procuring rare and worthy orchids. Both Reverend Charles Parish and Colonel Benson had already shown the world that numerous showy species could be found there ,and it was not long before Boxall began showing the results of searches so extensive that they reached even to the borders of China .Dendrobium boxallii was one of his earliest orchid discoveries , so named in his honor by Reichenbach in 1874. Dendrobium wardianum was one of his special finds; some of the plants sold in Stevens' sales rooms for as much as 100 guineas each. Other striking finds sent to England by Boxall in 1877 included Cymbidium lowianum ,Paphiopedilum boxallii,.Vanda coerulescens var. boxallii, and Vanda lamellata var. boxallii in 1880.

Subsequent quests in the Philippines resulted in large quantities of Phalaenopsis amabilis and Phalaenopsis schilleriana being dispatched to England. At a time when the difficulties of transportation and plant losses were still great, Boxall's ingenuity was remarkable . Preparing special cases glazed with ground oyster shells,he was able to transport the plants successfully in much greater quantity than most other professionals , thus becoming known as one of the world's most successful collectiors.

Borneo, Java,and Central America became further territories from which thousands of living plants were collected. Among his most worthy introductions ,the following are cited: Paphiopedilum bellatulum , Paphiopedilum ciliolare ,Phalaenopsis brymeriana , Phalaenopsis stuartiana ,Masdevallia bella ,Cattleya schofieldiana , Laelia leeana , Vanda boxallii , Vanda roeblingiana ,Vanda amesiana , Vanda kimballiana ,Soccolabium bellinum, and many others.

In conversaton Boxall easily entaptured his audience ,particulary children . His knowledge of orchids and their habitats was very great , but especially intriguing were the tales he recounted of things seen and heard in the countries he had traveled thorough

Like many of that adventurous breed who had preceded him ,the professional orchid collector Boxall undertook many difficult journeys in climates hazardous to his well-being . His health had been failing for some years because of dibetes,and this , coupled with a paralytic strole in 1907,caused him to retire permanently to his home at Clapless . Though he recovered only partially from the stroke, he nevertheles frequently attended meetings of the Royal Horticultural society and was a member of some years standing on the orchid comiittee. In addition, he was one of the first recipients of the victoria Medal of Honour in horticulture.

After struggling against poor health for many years, he passed away on 28 August 1910 at his clapton home, leaving only his widow.

References

Davis, Reginald S., and Steiner, Mona Lisa. 1952. Phillippine orchids. New York: The william Frederick press.

Gardeners' Chronicle. 1910. Obituary. Vol 48, no 1236.

Orchid Review, the 1910 vol. 18, no 215.

Orchid World, The 1910. Obituary. Vol. 1, no 3.

Van steenis, C.G.G.J. 1950. Cyclopaedia of Collectors. Flora Malesiana. Vol.1, ser.1.