Johann Franz Drège

Johann Fran(t)z Drège (or Jean François Drège) (25 March 1794 Altona, Hamburg, Germany - 3 February 1881 Altona, Hamburg, Germany), commonly referred to by his standard botanical author abbreviation Drège, was a German horticulturalist, botanical collector and explorer of Huguenot descent.

Drège received his first training in horticulture at Göttingen and subsequently worked at botanical gardens in Munich, Berlin, St. Petersburg and Riga.

In 1826 he travelled with his younger brother, Eduard, to join his older brother, Carl, who had been working as an apothecary in the Cape since 1821. They established themselves as professional natural history collectors - Carl concentrating on zoological and Franz on botanical specimens. Their contract with their European contacts expired in 1826 and they decided to launch their own business.

After starting his collecting career in Cape Town and the surrounding areas, Franz set out on his first journey to the interior. His itinerary included the following places: Hex River Pass, Beaufort West, Nuweveld Mountains, Rhenosterkop, Uitvlugt, Murraysburg district, Winterveld, Richmond district, Groot Tafelberg, Nieuwejaarsfontein, Ezelsfontein and De Aar. He followed almost the same route on the return leg of his journey, and was back in Paarl on 16 May 1827. Carl sold his apothecary in Paarl in 1829 and Franz, who had been collecting in the vicinity, decided to go with him on the first of a number of shared trips.

Their journey on this particular expedition took them along the following route: Hex River Mountains, Swartberg, Klaarstroom, Aasvogelberg near Willowmore, Swanepoelspoort, Swartruggens, Sundays River, Graaff-Reinet, Sneeuberg, Kompasberg, Renosterberg near Middelburg, Cradock, Suurberg, Uitenhage. Here they met up with Joachim Brehm and Ecklon; Ecklon accompanying them on a number of short excursions. The return trip was along the Langkloof and Outeniqua Mountains to Attaquaskloof and Swellendam.

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