A plant genus named after Quaker scientist John Fothergill

Fothergilla major (Large Fothergilla or Mountain Witch Alder)

John Fothergill (1712-1780) was born into a Quaker family in Yorkshire, England.  He became a medical doctor, apothecary and an advocate of inoculation. His activities in cultivating and studying plants also made him a Quaker botanist [1].  

Fothergill funded the travels of  the Anglo-American botanist and horticulturist John Bartram (1699-1777) through the Carolinas, where—like in other parts of southeastern North America—mountain witch-alder and dwarf witch-alder are native [2,3].  The witch-alder genus in the witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) was later named to honor John Fothergill: Fothergilla.

The genus Fothergilla consists of the species Fothergilla major (large witch-alder or mountain witch alder) and Fothergilla gardenii (dwarf witch-alder). The extinct species Fothergilla malloryi is known from fossil leaves from the lower Eocene (about 50 million years ago) [4] .

Fothergilla gardenii 'Mt. Airy' (Cultivar of Dwarf Fothergilla)

The pictures here show flowering shrubs of F. major and F. gardenii in early May of 2021 in the Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden of the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts. 

Keywords: natural history, botany, nomenclature, history. 

References and more to explore

[1] John Fothergill (1712-1780). Quakers in the World. URL: https://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/367/John-Fothergill (accessed May 16, 2021).

[2] Fothergilla - The Best Of the Natives. Home & Garden Information Center, Nov. 12, 2018.   URL: https://hgic.clemson.edu/fothergilla-the-best-of-the-natives/ (accessed May 16, 2021).

[3] Bartram's Travels. URL: https://georgiahistory.com/education-outreach/online-exhibits/featured-historical-figures/william-bartram/the-bartram-trail/ (accessed May 16, 2021).

[4] Radtke, M.G., Pigg, K.B. and Wehr, W.C. Fossil Corylopsis and Fothergilla Leaves (Hamamelidaceae) from the Lower Eocene Flora of Republic, Washington, U.S.A., and Their Evolutionary and Biogrographic Significance. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 166 (2), March 2005. URL: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/427483. 

A lighthouse name originating from the Narragansett language: Pomham Rocks Light

Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, constructed in 1871: Happy 150th Birthday!

The Pomham Rocks Lighthouse (Pomham Light, for short) was constructed in 1871. This historic Rhode Island landmark off the Providence River bank is celebrating its 150th birthday this year. It is the last surviving lighthouse in upper Narrangansett Bay [1]. How did it get its name? 

William Bright's book “Native American Place Names of the United States”  and the “American Indian Place Names In Rhode Island” website provide the information that the rock island, on which the lighthouse was built, originally belonged to the Algonquian leader Sachem Pomham. His name may indicate that “he traveled by sea” [2,3].

According to the “New England Lighthouses” website, the name is sometimes spelled Pumham,  pronounced with equal emphasis on both syllables [4].

The rocks and the light can be nicely viewed—with or without exercising the spelling—from the East Bay Bike Path in East Providence.

Happy Birthyear!

 

References and further reading

[1] Pomham Rocks Lighthouse Celebrates 150th Jubilee on the Rocks. Website: https://www.pomhamrockslighthouse.org/.

[2] William Bright. Native American Place Names of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. ISBN: 0-8061-3576-X.

[3] American Indian Place Names In Rhode Island: Past & Present. Website: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/IndianPlaceNames6.html.

[4] Pomham Rocks is a stark islet of approximately one-half acre rising out of the Providence river, about 800 feet from the east shore in the Riverside section of East Providence. New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. Website: http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/pomham-rocks-light-history.html.