Anthony Lamb (botanist)

For the basketball player, see Anthony Lamb (basketball).

Datuk Anthony Lamb
Born	(1937-07-15)15 July 1937 British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
Died	31 January 2024(2024-01-31) (aged 86) Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Spouse	Anthea Phillipps
Children	2
Scientific career
Fields	Plants of Borneo, especially orchids, rhododendrons
Author abbrev. (botany)	A.Lamb

Datuk Anthony L. Lamb, P.G.D.K. (15 July 1937 – 31 January 2024) was a British botanist, born in British Ceylon, who specialised in the flora of Sabah, East Malaysia, at the northern end of the island of Borneo.[1]

Early life

Lamb was educated in the United Kingdom, at Blundell's School in Tiverton and at St John's College at Cambridge. Lamb arrived in Sabah, then part of the British Crown Colony of North Borneo, in 1962 and started work on developing agricultural settlement schemes around Tawau.[2]

Career

In 1981, Lamb set up the Tenom Orchid Centre as a Sabah State Government conservation project.[2] He is co-author of Rhododendrons of Sabah (1988) and Pitcher-Plants of Borneo (1996), and a coordinator and a co-author of the Orchids of Borneo series.[2]

In 2015, Lamb was awarded a P.G.D.K. (Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu, in English: Commander of the Order of Kinabalu) by the Governor of Sabah, which carries the title of Datuk.

Lamb authored several volumes relating to the native orchids of Kinabalu Park, in Sabah,[2] and Lamb described his life's work in an extensive 2004 interview, The Lost World of Sabah, in The Daily Telegraph.[3]

A species of the orchid genus Dendrobium, found in Sabah and described in 1983, has been named Dendrobium lambii J.J.Wood in his honour.[4] The New Zealand Native Group has recognized the work he has done over the years in 2016 for the Orchids of Borneo. Dipodium lambii O'Byrne was described in 2017 based on a collection by Lamb.[5]

Personal life and death

Lamb was married to Datin Anthea Phillipps, and they had two children.[6] He died in Kota Kinabalu on 31 January 2024, at the age of 86.[2]

Selected publications

• The Rhododendrons of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, George Argent, Anthony Lamb, Anthea Phillipps (2007)

• Pitcher Plants of Borneo, Anthea Phillipps, Anthony Lamb, Ch'ien C. Lee (2008)

• The Orchids of Mount Kinabalu, Jeffrey J. Wood, Teofila E. Beaman, Anthony Lamb, Chan Chew Lun, John H. Beaman, Reed S. Beaman, Rimi Repin, Jaap J. Vermeulen (2011)

• A Guide to Gingers of Borneo, Anthony Lamb (2013)

• Bulbophyllum of Borneo, Jaap Vermeulen, Peter O'Byrne, Anthony Lamb (2015)

• A Guide to Hoyas of Borneo, Anthony Lamb, Michele Rodda (2016)

• A Guide to Wild Fruits of Borneo, Anthony Lamb (2019)

• A Guide to Market Fruits of Borneo, Anthony Lamb (2022)

References

1. "Anthony Lamb, British expat who became a world authority on the orchids of Borneo – obituary". The Telegraph. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
2. Thien, David (2 February 2024). "Passing of Sabah's walking botanical encyclopaedia". Daily Express Malaysia. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
3. "The Lost World of Sabah". The Daily Telegraph. 2 August 2004.
4. Wood, J J (1983). "A New Species of Dendrobium (Orchidaceae) from Borneo". Kew Bulletin. 38 (1): 79–81. Bibcode:1983KewBu..38...79W. doi:10.2307/4107971. JSTOR 4107971.
5. "Dipodium lambii P. O'Byrne". Orchid Species. 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
6. "Conservation Fellows Datuk Anthony Lamb and Anthea Phillipps". Sukau Rainforest Lodge. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
7. International Plant Names Index.  A.Lamb.