Charles Jeffrey

Charles Jeffrey (10 April 1934 – 29 March 2022) was a British botanist.

He was born in Kensington, England, and went to school in Walthamstow. During his National service he learnt Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists. After his National Service he went up to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating in 1957. His interest in plant systematics led him in 1982 to propose a five-kingdom classification. He was on the editorial board of Botanicheskii Zhurnal until 2006.

The genera Jeffreycia and Jeffreya are named for him.

Selected publications An introduction to plant taxonomy. (1968). 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, (1982), ISBN 0-521-28775-8. Biological nomenclature, 2nd ed. London: Arnold. (1977) The Cucurbitaceae of Eastern Asia. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. (1980).