Frans Hubert Edouard Arthur Walter Robyns

Frans Hubert Edouard Arthur Walter Robyns (1901-1986), known as Walter Robyns, was a Belgian botanist. His son, André Robyns (1935–2003), was also a botanist.

Walter Robyns
Born	25 May 1901 Aalst, Belgium
Died	27 December 1986(1986-12-27) (aged 85)
Nationality	Belgian
Scientific career
Fields	Botany
Institutions	National Botanic Garden of Belgium
Author abbrev. (botany)	Robyns

Biography

He received his doctorate in sciences at the University of Louvain.^[1] Robyns spent two long stays at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, travelled in central Africa and performed taxonomic work on many groups of tropical African plants, amongst others: Rubiaceae, grasses and legumes.^[2]

From 1931 to 1966 he served as director of the Jardin Botanique National de Belgique (National Botanic Garden of Belgium),^[1] where he shaped the transfer of the institute from the site in Brussels to the Bouchout Domain in Meise.

He was the initiator of a monographic flora series for central Africa, still continued today ("Flore d'Afrique centrale"). From 1959 to 1964 he was president of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy.^[1]

Partial bibliography

• Flore agrostologique du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi, Bruxelles : Goemaere, 1929-1934 – Agrostologic flora of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi.
• Flore des spermatophytes du Parc national Albert (with Roland Tournay) Bruxelles : Institut des parcs nationaux du Congo belge, 1947-1955 – Spermatophytes from the Albert National Park.
• Les territoires biogéographiques du Parc National Albert, Bruxelles : Institut des parcs nationaux du Congo belge, 1948 – Biogeographic territories of the Albert National Park.
• Flore du Congo belge et du Ruanda-Urundi, préparée par le Comité exécutif, Bruxelles : [Jardin botanique de l'État], 1958 – Flora of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi.^[3]

Eponymy

• Robynsia, family Rubiaceae, name introduced by John Hutchinson (1931).
• Robynsiella, family Amaranthaceae, name introduced by Karl Suessenguth (1938).
• Robynsiochloa, family Poaceae, name introduced by Henri Jacques-Félix (1960).
• Robynsiophyton, family Fabaceae, name introduced by Rudolf Wilczek (1953).^[1]

Abbreviation