Charles Wright

Charles Wright (October 29, 1811 – August 11, 1885) was an American botanist.

History Wright was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the son of James Wright and Mary née Goodrich. He studied classics and mathematics at Yale, During this time, he also collected plants for Asa Gray. Gray thought of Wright as one of his most trusted collectors.

In 1849, he joined an army expedition (with Gray's help) He collected seeds of Penstemon baccharifolius (Hook), between Texas and El Paso, which were later given to William Hooker. Also, Castilleja lanata (found near the Rio Grande) and Castilleja integra (found in the Organ Mountains, near El Paso). In the spring of 1851, he joined the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey (also with Gray's help).

His collections from these two trips, formed the basis of Gray's Plantae Wrightianae (1852–53). He found around 50 new plants in the area. and the western side of the Bering Strait. He collected over 500 specimens while the ships were delayed at Simon's Bay, near Cape Town. In 1859 he joined Juan Gundlach in the area around Monteverde, and in the winter of 1861-62 they explored together around Cárdenas. He was also still in communication with Asa Gray and via him, Charles Darwin, discussing orchids. This was possible because at the start of the American Civil War, he was in Cuba and Gray kept him there until 1864 to keep Wright safe and his ongoing botanical work intact. In 1871, he went with the US Commission to Santo Domingo.

His lichen specimens were given to Edward Tuckerman.

Legacy Charles Wright is commemorated in the names of a number of plants, including Datura wrightii, the genus Carlowrightia (wrightworts) and Geissorhiza wrightii (Baker).