Ernest Charles Nelson (15 September 1951, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers. He is honorary editor of Archives of Natural History (the journal of the Society for the History of Natural History), and of Heathers (yearbook of The Heather Society).
Nelson was educated at Portora Royal School (Enniskillen), and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in botany at the Aberystwyth University. He then moved to Australia where he obtained a Ph.D. from the Australian National University (Canberra) in 1975, for his studies into the taxonomy and ecology of Adenanthos. He then returned to Ireland, taking up the position of horticultural taxonomist at the Irish National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin (Dublin).
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