"… British s have been the pioneers or among the most active workers in every area of the world important for species. In the second half of the seventeenth century at was inspiring collection in eastern North America by and receiving plants from . From 1827 was sending back the first conifers from western North America, and his collecting was greatly augmented by the Veitchian collectors and those from the Oregon Society from 1853 to 1856. and were sending plants from Japan in 1860 and 1861, Fortune having already sent some from southern China in 1843. and had followed ’s pioneer introduction {') from South America by many more species in 1847 and 1854. From 1899, and were sending a multitude of species from China and later, Formosa. In India, amateur collectors acquired Himalayan species from 1818 onwards."