Frederick Hamilton Kenny (1859–1927), an Australian plant collector of note

A biography of Frederick Hamilton Kenny, a significant Australian plant collector in the early 20th century, is presented. Kenny was a medical doctor and surgeon, but also a keen amateur naturalist. He lived and worked in numerous towns during his life, and collected around 1170 botanical specimens between 1905 and 1924, mainly in Queensland and New South Wales, with his major collecting localities being Crows Nest, Gayndah, Gympie and Herberton in Queensland, and Glen Innes and Mosman in New South Wales. He served with the Australian Navy in World War I and his diary from this period gives an insight into his personality. He discovered a number of unknown plant species and four plant taxa were named for him. The number, provenance, presentation, significance and taxonomic diversity of his plant collections are discussed.