Thomas Drummond

In March 1833, Thomas Drummond, a Scottish naturalist and botanist, arrived in Velasco, Texas. He went on to spend 21 months in Texas collecting specimens in Galveston, the Edwards Plateau, and the Brazos, Colorado and Guadalupe river basins. His samples included about 750 plant species, 150 birds, as well as a variety of snakes, shells, and seeds. Some of these were the first to be widely seen and studied in European institutions. Many Texas plant species now honor Drummond, including Phlox drummondi, Allium drummondi, Clematis drummondi and Oenothera drummondi.