Career

Collecting localities

Collections

Literature

Biographical data

 

Haniff, Mohamed

 

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 1: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement I)

 

Died: 1930.

 

career:

Entered the Gardens Department Straits Settlements in 1890, stationed in the Waterfall Gardens, Penang; 1911-21 in charge of those Gardens. In 1917 he was promoted to the rank of Field Assistant; he retired in 1926, but continued to collect plants from time to time.1

Dendrobium haniffii Ridl., Eugenia haniffii Henderson, and other plants, were named after him.

 

Collecting localities:

(Often accompanied by Nur, see there).2 Malay Peninsula: P. Penang (1890-1928); Langkawi Islands (Sept. 1900, Aug. 1906); Perak, G. Kerbau with Barnard (May 1909);3 Kedah, G. Bongsu (1910); Kedah Peak with L.M. Bell (March 1911); P. Langkawi and G. Kerbau (1911); Taiping Hills (Febr. 1913); P. Langkawi & P. Lidi (Sept. 1914); Kedah Peak (Nov. 1915); Taiping Hills (Febr. 1917); Taiping and Ayer Kuning (May 1917); Kulim (June 1917); Kedah Peak (Aug. 1919, Febr. 1920); Salak & Sg. Siput (Dec. 1920); Sg. Siput, Perak (1921); Langkawi Islands with Nur (Nov. 14-27, 1921); G. Tahan (May 20-June 18, 1922); up the Lebir River in Kelantan to the roots of G. Tahan (Jan.-Febr. 1923); Taiping Hills (Oct. 1923); in 1924 visiting Kedah, Prov. Wellesley, and Larut with Burkill; Perak (May), Tapah (June), Batu Gajah, Telok Anson (Sept.), Pahang, Kuala Kangsar (Sept.); Kuala Kangsar and neighbourhood (Jan. 14-19, 1925); Kedah Peak with Holttum (Apr. 1925); Johore, G. Panti (Dec. 27, 1925); foot of G. Bintang on Kedah-Perak boundary (Apr. 1928).

His locality Mt Erskine in Penang is not the Mt Erskine of the maps, but Mt Olivia where Erskine once lived.4

 

collections:

Herb. Sing. [SING]; some dupl. at Kuala Lump. [KEP], in Herb. Bog. [BO] and Kew [K]. His later collections are in the ‘Singapore Field Number’ series. Also dupl. in Herb. Copenh. [C]. For descriptions of plants cf. Liter. sub 1 and 3.

 

literature:

(1) Author of ‘Record of a few orchids and other interesting plants (Monocotyledons) found in Penang, Setol, Kedah Peak and Bukit Wang in the north of Kedah’ (Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 1, 1916, p. 353-355).

(2) He assisted on numerous expeditions in many parts of the Malay Peninsula; the mentioned data were derived from the Annual Reports of the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, they are probably incomplete; cf. also Burkill in Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 4, 1927, nos 4-5.

(3) cf. H.N. Ridley: ‘Plants from G. Kerbau, Perak’ (Journ. Fed. Mal. Stat. Mus. 6, 1915, p. 43-62).

(4) cf. Burkill in Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 4, 1927, p. 149.

 

biographical data:

Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 5, 1930, p. 161 w. portr.