Species Jamesbrittenia giessii

For James Britten (1846–1924), who was born in London and lived there his entire life. He was educated privately with the intention of becoming a medical doctor but favoured botany and accepted a position as an assistant at the Kew Gardens herbarium from 1869–1871. He was subsequently transferred to the botany department at the British Museum and worked there until his retirement in 1909. Britten published a number of dictionaries of British plants and botanists but was also an expert on Old English dialects and folklore and a devout Catholic who devoted time to social upliftment projects. He was evidently much admired by Otto Kuntze, who named Jamesbrittenia for him, as a strong upholder of the Principle of Priority in plant nomenclature and as a longtime editor of the Journal of Botany, a post he filled for 45 years.