Richard Spruce (10 September 1817 – 28 December 1893) was an English botanist. One of the great Victorian botanical explorers, Spruce spent approximately 15 years exploring the Amazon from the Andes to the mouth, and was one of the first Europeans to visit many of the places where he collected specimens.
The plants and objects collected by Spruce (mostly in Brazil) from 1849 to 1864 form an important botanical, historical and ethnological resource, and are currently being databased at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London and at Trinity College Dublin.
Spruce successfully cultivated bitter bark quinine, making the drug widely available for the first time. The Brazilian peoples were the discoverers of the bark's anti-malarial action.
Read more about Richard Spruce: Early Life, Career, Quotations
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