Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox

Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox
Euan Cox (1893-1977); National Galleries of Scotland, by Glyn Philpot
Born1893
Died1977
NationalityBritish
Known forBotany, Nomocharis
Scientific career
Author abbrev. (botany)Cox

Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox (1893–1977) was a Scottish plant collector, botanist, and horticulturist, who accompanied Reginald Farrer on his last botanical expedition to Burma and its border with China, from 1919 to 1920. He was a very successful propagator of rhododendrons and had an extensive collection in his garden at Glendoick, Perthshire, Scotland, which formed in 1953 the basis of his commercial nursery, later run by his son, Peter A Cox, and grandson, Kenneth N.E. Cox.[1] The enterprise introduced many dwarf hybrids,[2] suitable for the Scottish climate.[3] From 1929 to 1940 E. H. M. Cox was the editor of the magazine The New Flora and Silva.[4]

The commercial nursery, with Britain’s largest selection of rhododendrons, developed a major tourist attraction consisting of an expansive garden centre, an award-winning café, and a series of woodland spaces filled with plants collected by or grown by the Cox family.[3] In 2001 Kenneth Cox discovered the species R. titapuriense in Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India near the border with China.[5] In 2009 his book Scotland for Gardeners won the accolade Garden Media Guild Reference Book of the Year.[3]

Selected publications

  • Cox, E.H.M. (1930). The plant introductions of Reginald Farrer. London: New Flora and Silva Ltd.
  • 1944. The Honourable East India Company and China. Proceedings of the Linnean Soc. 156: 5-8
  • Euan Hillhouse Methven Cox, Peter Alfred Cox. 1958. Modern shrubs. Ed. Nelson. 215 pp.
  • ------------, ------------. 1956. Modern rhododendrons. Ed. Thomas Nelson & Sons. 193 pp.
  • 1947. Primulas for garden and greenhouse. Ed. Dulau; B.H. Blackwell. 86 pp.
  • 1945. Plant Hunting in China: A History of Botanical Exploration in China and the Tibetan Marches. Ed. Collins. 228 pp.
  • 1935. A history of gardening in Scotland. Ed. Chatto & Windus for New flora & Silva Ltd. 228 pp.
  • 1927. The modern English garden. Ed. Country life Ltd. 192 pp.[6]
  • 1927. The evolution of a garden. Volume 132 Home university library of modern knowledge. Ed. Williams & Norgate. 256 pp.
  • 1926. Farrer's Last Journey: Upper Burma, 1919-20. London: Dulau & Co. 244 pp.[7]
  • 1924. Rhododendrons for amateurs. Ed. Country life Ltd. 111 pp.[8]

Species named after him

The standard author abbreviation Cox is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[11]

Bibliography

  • 2008. Suki Urquhart. ‘Cox, Euan Hillhouse Methven (1893–1977)’

References

  1. ^ "Cox, Euan Hillhouse Methven". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/96768. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ Taylor, Judith M. "E.H.M. Cox". Visions of Loveliness: Great Plant Breeders of the Past.
  3. ^ a b c Kiddle, Jessica; Whittingham, Jo (4 May 2013). "Gardening: Glendoick's rhododendrons are world renowned". The Scotsman.
  4. ^ Cox, E. H. M. (ed.). The New Flora and Silva. LCCN 31032863; 12 vols. 1928–1940{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  5. ^ Cox, Peter (January 2013). "The joy of gardening" (PDF). The Garden: 47–48.
  6. ^ "mini-review of The Modern English Garden". Landscape Architecture. XVIII (1): 87. October 1927.
  7. ^ "mini-review of Farrer's Last Journey by E. H. M. Cox". The New Statesman. 28: x. March 12, 1927.
  8. ^ "review of Rhododendrons for Amateurs by E. H. M. Cox". The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society. L (I): 125. January 1925.
  9. ^ New Fl. & Silva x. 257 (1938), in obs., English; and in Fedde, Repert. xlvi.261 (1939), Latin. (IK)
  10. ^ New Fl. & Silva v. 33 (1932).
  11. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Cox.