1. Georg Eberhard Rumphius (1627-1702)
He was born in Germany and employed by Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) in Ambon, east of Indonesia. Fifty years before Linnaeus introduced binomial nomenclature to biological science, Rumphius completed his own work of more than 20 years. The book Herbarium Amboinense (Het Amboinsche kruidboek) consisting of 1,660 pages and 700 plates of orchid descriptions and illustrations was first published in Amsterdam between 1741-1750, 40 years after his death. The beauty of Ambon inspired him to describe and write about the variety of flora and fauna that he saw. He was buried in Ambon on June 15, 1702.
2. Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Carl von Linne, also known as Carollus Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist and is the most famous of all systemic botanist. His system of binomial nomenclature for the scientific naming of plants and animals is still in use today. Published in 1753, his book Species Plantarum includes 59 species of orchid in 8 genera. For his dedicated work in the field of botany, he is known as “The Father of Modern Botany”. The other publications are Genera Plantarum, Systema Nature, and Philosophia Botanica.
3. Karl Ludwig Blume (1796-1862)
Blume succeeded Reinwardt (the first director of agriculture of the botanic garden at Bogor, West Java) as the director of Buitenzorg Botanic Garden (Bogor Botanic Gardens) in 1822. Under his leadership, the first book to describe the orchids of Java and adjacent islands was published in 1825 with the name Tabellen en Platen vow de Javaansche Orchideen. Other publications which made a great contribution to the recognition of Javanese flora include Bijdragen tot de Flora von Nederlansch Indie and Flora Javae et Insularum adjacentium.
4. John Lindley (1799-1865)
He was the English botanist and orchidologist. With the increasing number of new orchid genera and species discovered in the 1800’s, the terminology used to describe the Orchid Family became increasingly confusing. John Lindley developed a system of classifying all the known orchids of the world and thus he is known as “The Father of Modern Orchidology”. His publication about Orchid between 1830-1860, including Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants, Folia Orchidaceae and The Sertum Orchidaceum were filled with colores plates and descriptions. He collected more than 7000 plants including orchids.
5. Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (1823-1889)
He was the foremost German orchidologist. Her father was also a well-known botanist, named Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach. After Lindley’s Era, Reichenbach became the “Orchid King”. All orchid specimens from all over the world were sent to him for identification and description, and formed an immense herbarium which rivaled that of Lindley’s at Kew. At least 1500 of his drawings are devoted to the orchids of Europe. In 1852, he published a work on the origin and structure of orchid pollen. All the clippings notes, drawing and scraps of information that reached his hand were safely kept in his herbarium, his most precious treasure.
6. Sir Hugh Low (1824-1905)
Low was the first orchidologist to work on Borneon orchids, entering virgin territory to find a new and beautiful orchids such as Coelogyne pandurata, Coelogyne aspirate, Dendrobium low, Paphiopedillum low, and Arachnanthe low. He also found the indigenous “jewel” orchids, Haemaria and Anoectochilus, known as Daun Lo (Low’s Leaf) or Boenga Lo (Low’s flower). He collected orchids in West Borneo, and the Anambas and Natoena Islands.
7. Henry Nicholas Ridley (1855-1956)
Ridley was the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. He completed the study of orchid of Borneo and The Malay Peninsula begun by Sir Hugh Low, Charles Curtis and David Burke. His botanical collections amounted to about 50,000 specimens with some 3000 species new to science. His monumental publication was Flora of the Malay Peninsula published between 1922 and 1925. He also published The Dispersal of Plants Throughout the World in 1930.
