Walter Davis (botanist)

Walter Davis (14 September 1847 – 18 November 1930) was an Englishplant collector, who collected in South America for James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea, London.

Davis was born at Sarson Street, now part of Amport, near Andover, Hampshire. According to Hortus Veitchii, he "inherited from his father a taste for Natural History and outdoor pursuits, which later took the form of a love of gardening". At 12 years old, he left school and started work in the gardens of the Marquess of Winchester at Amport House; the house had been rebuilt in 1857, and the gardens were being re-modelled. He then moved to Wilton Park Gardens, at Beaconsfield where he stayed for four years, rising to the rank of departmental foreman.

His travels then took him to work for Mr. C. Ryder at Slade, Kent followed by a spell at the gardens of Mr. T. W. Evans at Allestree Hall, Derby, before, in 1870, he joined James Veitch & Sons at Chelsea, London.

At Chelsea, he worked under John Dominy in the "New Plant Department" and eventually became foreman in charge of the Nepenthes and fine foliage plants. In 1873, following the departures of George Downton and A. R. Endres, Harry Veitch was looking for a plant collector to travel to South America to locate and collect a quantity of the orchid, Masdevallia veitchiana, which had been introduced to England in 1867, following its discovery by Richard Pearce but was still scarce. Veitch selected Davis, and on 2 August 1873 he departed for South America.

...
Wikipedia