Stephen Robson (1741–1779) and his nephew Edward Robson (1763–1813) were both Quaker botanists who lived in Darlington, County Durham. Stephen is best known for his British Flora published in 1777, and Edward had a considerable reputation as a particularly competent botanist. Some confusion seems to exist regarding the authorship of a rare plant list for Durham, Plantae rariores agro Dunelmensi indigenae, attributed to Stephen Robson in most recent bibliographical literature. This paper re-examines the evidence for the authorship of this list and suggests that although Stephen Robson produced a short list of local plants the longer and more critical list, Plantae rariores … was compiled by his more knowledgeable nephew Edward.
