Ambroise Verschaffelt

Who was Ambroise Verschaffelt?

Ambroise Colette Alexandre Verschaffelt was a distinguished Belgian horticulturist and author. His grandfather Pierre-Antoine was amongst the founders of the "Floralies gantoises" in 1808. His father Alexandre was a major horticulturist of his city. The Verschaffelts were a family of Belgian nurserymen specializing a.o. in camellia, azalea, palmtrees. They introduced many new species from abroad - in particular from South America - collected for them by "plant hunters". They published the Nouvelle Iconographie des Camellias : it continues Lorenzo Berlèse’s work Iconographie du genre Camellia. In 1854, Ambroise took over from Charles Lemaire "Le Jardin Fleuriste" which became "L'Illustration Horticole" in 1858. Ambroise sold his business to Jean Linden in 1869, together with "L'Illustration Horticole". He then retired but continued to be active on the botanical scene an acted at different occasions as a counselor to king Léopld II for his famous hothouses of Laeken. Ambroise was vice-president of the Royal Society for Agriculture and Botany of Gent; he obtained numerous medals and prizes in horticultural exhibitions in his own country as well as in the United Kingdom, Russia and other countries.