Species Peddiea thomensis

For John Peddie (?–1840), lieutenant-colonel and plant collector. He joined the army in 1805, fought in Portugal (1808) and Spain (1812) where he lost his right arm at Salamanca. He came up through the ranks and was in command of the 72nd Foot Regiment in the Eastern Cape in the 1830s. It was from here that he sent plant specimens to William Henry Harvey, then in Dublin. It is possible that he did not collect them directly, but through Thomas Williamson (1807–?), a soldier in the 72nd Foot Regiment, who had been employed by Harvey earlier to collect plants. Such collecting could only have been done with Peddie’s consent. Peddie was transferred to Ceylon in 1840 and died shortly thereafter. Both men were commemorated: Peddie in the genus name Peddiea and Williamson in Amphithalea williamsonii.