Frederick Manson Bailey

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Frederick Manson Bailey, CMG (March 8, 1827–June 25, 1915) was a botanist active in Australia, who made valuable contributions to the characterisation of the flora of Queensland.

Bailey was born in London, the son of John Bailey, nurseryman and seedsman. His father went with his family to Australia in 1838 and arrived at Adelaide on March 22 1839. John Bailey was appointed colonial botanist soon afterwards, and was asked to form a botanic garden. Later he resigned, began farming, and subsequently started a plant nursery at Adelaide In these ventures he was assisted by his son, Frederick , who in 1858 went to New Zealand and took up land in the Hutt Valley. In 1861 he went to Sydney and in the same year started a seedsman's business in Brisbane. For some years he was collecting in various parts of Queensland, and he also contributed articles to the newspapers on plant life.

In 1874 he published a Handbook to the Ferns of Queensland, and in the following year was made botanist to the board appointed to inquire into the diseases of live stock and plants. In connexion with this, Bailey in 1879 brought out An Illustrated Monograph of the Grasses of Queensland. He was afterwards put in charge of the botanical section of the Queensland Museum, in 1881 was made colonial botanist of Queensland, and held this position until his death. He published in 1881 The Fern World of Australia, and in 1883 appeared A Synopsis of the Queensland Flora, a work of nearly 900 pages to which supplementary volumes were added in later years. This work was superseded by The Queensland Flora, published in six volumes between 1899 and 1902 with an index published three years later. In the meantime there had been published in 1897 A Companion for the Queensland Student of Plant Life and Botany Abridged, a revised reissue of two earlier pamphlets. Among other works of Bailey was A Catalogue of the Indigenous and Naturalised Plants of Queensland published in 1890. This was expanded into a Comprehensive Catalogue of Queensland Plants, Both Indigenous and Naturalised, which appeared with many illustrations in 1912.

He travelled widely, important expeditions included Rockingham Bay, Seaview Range and the upper Herbert River (1873), western Queensland, Roma and Rockhampton (1876), Cairns and the Barron River (1877), Bellenden Ker (1889), Georgina River (1895), Torres Strait (1897) and British New Guinea (1898).

He married Anna Maria, daughter of the Rev. T. Waite in 1856. A son, J. F. Bailey, who survived him was successively director of the Brisbane and Adelaide botanic gardens. Bailey was awarded the Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1902, and was created C.M.G. in 1911. His name has been attached to about 50 species of plants by fellow botanists, of which perhaps the best known is Acacia baileyana.

The standard author abbreviation F.M.Bailey may be used to indicate this person in citing a botanical name.