Kingdon Ward, Francis (1885–1958)

English plant collector, geographer, and author who discovered the blue poppy Meconopsis betoniciforlia on his travels in China. He also described many new forms of rhododendrons and primulas.

Kingdon Ward was born in Manchester, the only son of the acclaimed botanist Harry Marshall Ward. He attended St Paul's School and Christ's College, Cambridge. After studying natural science 1906, he went to teach at Shanghai Public School 1907. In 1909, he participated in an expedition to the interior of China and following his success in collecting specimens during this trip, he began to collect plant specimens as a living.

He travelled extensively and normally alone (until his second marriage 1947), visiting the mountains of the Chinese, Indian, and Burmese borders, and wrote extensively about his travels. His awards include the Victoria and Veitch medals from the Royal Horticultural Society, the Royal Geographical Society Founder's medal and an OBE for services to horticulture. He died in London.