Charles Alston (botanist)

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Charles Alston (1683-November 22, 1760) was a Scottish botanist.

Alston was born in Hamilton. In 1715 he went to Leyden to study under the Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave. On his return to Scotland he became lecturer in materia medica and botany at Edinburgh and also superintendent of the botanical gardens. He was a critic of Linnaeus's system of plant classification.

The tree genus Alstonia is named after him.