Crapper, Ellis

Ellis Crapper (d 1973), amateur botanist was a life-long resident of Tayport, Fife. A customs and excise man in Dundee by profession, he was a noted local ornithologist as well as a respected amateur plant collector. He was extremely active in studies of both Tentsmuir (Leuchars, Fife) and Glen Clova (Angus). His work includes valuable studies of Tentsmuir in periods prior to and post commercial forestation. In his studies of Clova he corroborated with James L. Colville (ca. 1892-1974), Dundee-based ironmonger and noted amateur botanist. Crapper also updated some of the 19th century field surveys of Clova and adjacent areas by both Professor John Hutton Balfour (1808-1884), professor of botany, University of Glasgow and University of Edinburgh and William Gardiner (1808-1852). Crapper is particularly notable for his botanical field photography. Very little of his work has been published.