Born Edinburgh 1830; died Edinburgh 1905
The son of William Fraser who was a partner in the Neill & Co. printing firm in Edinburgh, Patrick Neill Fraser took over the firm on the death of its owner, the naturalist Patrick Neill, in 1851. He established a renowned garden at his home, Rockville, in Murrayfield, Edinburgh specialising in alpine plants and both tender and hardy ferns, as well as polyanthus. He was treasurer of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society for 28 years and was also a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
Sources : R. Desmond ‘Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists; obituary folder
D.W.
Christopher is a very well-known expert on the ferns of the Indian subcontinent. He has written widely on the taxonomic, cytological and molecular-cladonomic studies of the Indian pteridophytes and recently published the three-volume An Annotated Checklist of Indian Pteridophytes (2021). He has worked closely with other Indian pteridologists and more widely internationally. He has always been a ready source of advice on the identification of ferns, and he is an Honorary Member of the British Pteridological Society and the Honorary Patron of the Exotic Fern Group. Born in South Wales, he currently lives between Portugal and the UK, having moved from Nepal.