!•• I'l.ANT I. IKK OK ALAHA.M \. 



-\^ll KI. m)r>KnK|) 111 » KI.IA . 



At'icr tlir lapM- of ;ili(iut llir('c-(|u;irtfr^ ol" a triituiy. Saiiiufi Hots- 

 f()i-(l Uui-klt'v followed tlif t'(i<it>(r|)> (if liaitiaiii in the t-xploratiDii of 

 the tloni of Alal)aiiia. Mr. l>iuklcy \\a> a iiativi- of New Y<n-k Itut 

 iTiH'ixM'd his education at W'oicyan riiixcrsitx . Middh'towii. Conn., 

 where he ;^iaduat<'d in |.s;'.ti. After h'a\ in*.'' (•ollc<;c the rntlmsiastie 

 voun^' l»otani>t was anion*:- the earli«'st to explore the southei'n .V))pa- 

 hiihian mountains, diseoveiine luany new plants and niakine- the study 

 of the triM's his thief object. liueklev reached Alal>aina l)y tiie piin- 

 cipal road of travel leadin^r from the Ohio VaUey to the (iulf. l*ass- 

 in«i" o\ei' the detached spurs of the C'uml)erland Mountains in Madison 

 County, on his journey to Alabama and pursuing his favorite oecupa- 

 tioii lie discoxered the interesting Ameri«-an smoke tree {( of/'/ii/.s catl- 

 iioltlrs ('Snii.) Britton). l)efore known only from a singh? locality in the 

 Indian Territory near the tK>rders of Arkan.sas. Arriving in central 

 Alabaiua, he settled in Wilcox County as teacher in an advanced school 

 (al>out ISo'.t), There, among the hills and vales of the; Cjjper Division 

 of the Maritime pine l)elt. and near the woods and gra.ssy glades of 

 tile Central Prairie region, an inviting field was open to the botanist. 

 In the prairie region he discovered that tine tree of the white-oak 

 group named l)y iiini Que/'ct(j< durandii {Q. hnwlloh<i (Torr.) Sar- 

 gent), and in the hills, TJidJletriun d<jl)Ur^ besides a host of other inter- 

 esting plants heretofore unknown from the Southern States. He 

 described his discoveries in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia 

 Academy of Science. Working without the advantage of a large 

 l)otanical library he met with severe criticism; ))ut many^ of his new 

 species which at the time were not regarded as valid have now 

 received their deserved recognition. In 18()(I Buckley was ajipointed 

 State geologist of Texas, and, contiiuiing his botanical studies, he 

 enjoyed ample opportunities for discovering many undescribed plants. 

 He never lost his interest in botany, and his last years were devoted to 

 fruit raising and horticulture at Austin, Tex., where he died in 1J584. 

 l^uckleya. a remarkable shrub of the North Carolina mountains, com- 

 memorates Buckley's zealous eti'orts in th(> cause of Southern botany. 



HEZEKIAII (lATKS. 



Dr. Hezekiali (rates, a nativ«; of New England and for many years 

 a successful apothecary at Mobile, was the first collector of Alatnuna 

 plants from the coast region, Avhen'ce he contributed valua})le material 

 to Torrey and Gray for their Flora of North America, from the year 

 1830 to the early forties. He died at Mobile in 1850 (0. Prof. Asa 

 Gray dedicated to his memor}' the genus Gatesia. a monotypical peren- 

 nial of the Southwest, native from Alabama to eastern Texas; but 

 unfortunately the name Gatesia has had to Ix' given up, having been 

 previously applied to ant^ther })lant. 



