Oleg Polunin

Oleg Vladimirovitch Polunin (; 28 November 1914 – 1 July 1985) was a British botanist, traveller and educator.

Early life and education Polunin was born Oleg Vladimirovitch Polunin on 28 November 1914 in Reading, Berkshire to a Russian father and a British mother. The second of four siblings, Polunin was the brother of the botanist Nicholas Vladimir Polunin, the piano teacher Tanya Polunin (1921–2009) and the physician Ivan Polunin. Polunin travelled widely in pursuit of samples and photographs, and he discovered several new species. He was awarded the Linnean Society’s H. H. Bloomer Award in 1983.

Personal life In April 1943, Polunin married Lorna Mary Polunin .

From 1939 to 1947, Polunin was the brother-in-law of the writer Helen Fraser.

On 1 July 1985, Polunin died from motor neurone disease in Godalming, Surrey aged 70.

Selected books Flowers of the Mediterranean (Chatto & Windus, 1967) Flowers of Europe: a field guide (Oxford University Press, 1969) A Concise Flowers of Europe (Oxford University Press, 1972) Flowers of South West Europe (Oxford University Press, 1973, ) Trees and Bushes of Europe (Oxford University Press, 1976) Flowers of Greece and the Balkans (Oxford University Press, 1980, ) Flowers of the Himalaya (Oxford University Press, 1985) A Guide to the Vegetation of Britain and Europe (Oxford University Press, 1985, ) Concise Flowers of the Himalaya (Oxford University Press, 1987) Collins Photoguide to Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe (Collins, 1988, )