Alexander Garden

Garden, Alexander, c.1730–1791, Scottish-American naturalist and physician, b. Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He settled in Charleston, S.C., where he collected mineral, plant, and animal specimens and discovered new species, including the amphibians known as the congo snake or congo eel and the siren or mud eel. He corresponded with Linnaeus and other European naturalists, and the gardenia was named for him. A loyalist during the American Revolution, he was exiled to England in 1782.

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