ABSTRACT
Substantial collections continued to arrive from South Asia in the twentieth century, especially from the Himalayas, when the introduction of plants of horticultural value increased, with new opportunities arising from the opening up of Nepal and Bhutan. Notable among such collections are those made by Roland Edgar Cooper, Frank Ludlow, George Sherriff, and a series of British Museum expeditions to Nepal. An illustrated book on the ‘Botanical Treasures’ of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was compiled to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the 1964 building that houses its internationally renowned herbarium, library and archives. In it no fewer than 22 of the 105 items illustrated – artefacts and naturalia – had connections with the Indian subcontinent. Dr Francis Buchanan’s position in India, as successor to Roxburgh at the Calcutta Botanic Garden, was one he had long desired and fought hard for, but it came too late and he held it for only a few months in 1815.
