Brian Mathew

Brian Frederick Mathew
Born	1936 (age 80–81) Limpsfield, Surrey, England
Nationality	British
Fields	Botany, Horticulture
Known for	Contributions to horticulture and taxonomy, particularly in regard to bulbs (geophytes)
Author abbrev. (botany)	B.Mathew

Brian Frederick Mathew MBE, VMH is a British botanist, born in the village of Limpsfield, Surrey, England. His particular area of expertise is bulbous plants, particularly ornamental bulbous plants, although he has contributed to other fields of taxonomy and horticulture. He has authored or co-authored many books on bulbs and bulbous genera which appeal to both botanists and gardeners, as well as specialist monographs on other genera, including Daphne (with Chris Brickell), Lewisia, and Helleborus. His work has been recognized by the British Royal Horticultural Society and the International Bulb Society.

Brian Mathew was born in Limpsfield, a village in Surrey, England. His parents encouraged both Brian and his sister to look after small garden plots allocated to them. He records that as his father was a very successful vegetable gardener, his own interests were more in ornamental plants. An early encounter with Helleborus orientalis may have laid the foundations for a later monograph on hellebores.

He was educated at the local grammar school. After leaving school he spent his compulsory military service in the Royal Air Force, engaged in a then secret project involving Britain's atomic bomb. When his service was finished, a family friend and enthusiastic gardener suggested he should attend the horticultural school run by the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley. Entry required three years prior work experience. Through the offices of the family friend he was taken on at the nearby Birch Farm Hardy Plant Nursery, run by the Ingwersen family.

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