Joseph Burke (botanist)

Joseph Burke (12 June 1812 in

Harrisonville, US) was a collector of plants and animals for Lord Derby.^[1]

1839–1840

Burke was employed as a gardener for Lord Derby, an enthusiastic natural history collector with his own menagerie at

Prescot, Lancashire. In 1839 Lord Derby commissioned Karl Zeyher

to collect plants and animals in southern Africa, delegating Burke to organise the expedition.

Burke left London on the vessel "Joanna" in December 1839 and arrived in Cape Town in March 1840. From here he went on to "Vygekraal" (about 3 km SE of

Cradock on 3 December. From here they crossed the Great Fish River and reached the Orange River on 19 December. The Caledon River

, which was in spate on Christmas Day, could only be crossed on 29 January 1841, and then only by way of dismantling all the wagons and ferrying them across piecemeal.

tsessebe and crocodile. By now Burke felt that his collection was sufficiently representative and that his wagons were close to capacity. They set off on a trip to the salt pan near Pretoria about two days away. Here they encountered giraffe and a number of birds not previously seen. Burke described this bushveld region as grassland densely covered with Acacia and other tree species as far as the eye could see. They had arrived at the southernmost extension of the African savanna

in the inland plateau. Burke left the salt pan on 7 August and returned to their Magaliesberg camp, and on 24 August headed west to Marikana and Sterkstroom. They followed this stream north as far as its junction with the Crocodile River, which they reached on 29 August, and at which place they shot their first

Wahlberg, who had travelled up from Port Natal. They made a few minor excursions before starting on the return journey on 14 December 1841. Following the course of the Magalies River upstream, they reached Potchefstroom

on 26 December and came across an Erythrina (most probably E. zeyheri Harv.) in full flower. This species is remarkable in that it is in effect an underground tree which only appears above ground during the flowering season, spending the winter months in a state of dormancy.

1842

Making good progress, they crossed the Vaal River on 1 January 1842 and the Orange River on 4 February. From here they deviated from their outward route and travelled west to Colesberg, where they arrived on 18 February. Striking further west, they reached Klein Tafelberg on 4 March and Beaufort West by 9 April. Along the Gamka River, Burke captured several eland and noted that some of his other animals had died. They crossed the Dwyka River on 3 May and the Hex River Pass on 22 May and were back at Vygekraal on 7 June, almost two and a half years after landing at Table Bay. Burke sailed for Britain in July 1842, taking back an "immense collection of living and dead animals and dried plants, seeds, bulbs etc"; the plant specimens finding their way to Kew.

Burke kept a journal detailing his travels, from which excerpts were published by

Elephantorrhiza burkei, Hoodia burkei, and Drosera burkeana. His plant specimens are in the herbarium of Kew Gardens

.

Burke got married in December 1842 after his return to Britain and later settled in the United States. He subsequently went on a joint expedition with collectors from Kew to Hudson Bay and California, settled 180 acres in Cass County, Missouri, successfully participated in the California Gold Rush on 1849, and served as a First Lieutenant in the Union Army during the United States Civil War (even as family members served in the Confederate Army).

Joseph was born May 13, 1812, in Bristol, England, and died at age 60 in Cass County, Harrisonville, MO, US, on January 23, 1873. He was married to Elizabeth Walker, from Ormskirk, Lancashire, and had 3 children in the UK and 6 children in the USA. Elizabeth died at age 92 on March 15, 1913, also in Harrisonville.^[2]

References

"Botanical Exploration of Southern Africa" Mary Gunn and LE Codd (Balkema 1981)
ISBN 0-86961-129-1

[1] "S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science".

[2] Death certificate. Missouri digital heritage

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