Joseph Rock is one of the famous names in botanical exploration. In the early twentieth century, he was plant collector, explorer, anthropologist, linguist and photographer. He was both intrepid and eccentric. One of the more interesting images of Rock is in the wilds of Yunnan province, China. He is properly accoutered and accompanied by 200 Chinese tribesmen. Among his provisions and equipment were reported to be a rubber bathtub, table linen, and a phonograph.
Background
He was born in Austria and emigrated to the U.S. in 1905 when he was 21; he became a citizen eight years later. He taught himself botany and became familiar enough with Hawaiian flora to teach botany courses at the University of Hawaii.
U.S.D.A. Trips
In 1920, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent him as plant collector to Siam, Burma and India to hunt for seeds from the elusive chaulmoogra (Hydnocarpus kurzii) tree. Historically in the East, an oil extract of the seeds was used to treat leprosy, but the tree was unknown in the West. Rock did indeed track down the tall, white-flowered tree, native to tropical regions of Malaysia and India, and returned with seeds to begin a chaulmoogra plantation in Hawaii. Chaulmoogra oil, with its antibacterial properties, is still used in some regions for treating parasitic worms and eczemas as well as early stages of leprosy. However, it has largely been replaced in leprosy treatment by synthetic sulfones.
National Geographic and Arnold Arboretum Trips
Rock’s survival experience led to his becoming a correspondent for National Geographic magazine which sponsored him on several trips to China and published nine of his articles with photos from 1924-35. Under the Geographic’s auspices, Rock sent 60,000 plant specimens to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. to be shared with universities and botanical institutes. He also sent seeds to the Department of Agriculture.
With the financial support of Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, Rock collected thousands of additional tree and shrub specimens, as well as several hundred packets of seeds. Samples of these plants may be seen at the Arnold Arboretum at the present time.
Botanical Contributions
Finding the chaulmoogra tree and its seeds was a notable step in Rock’s multifaceted career. On later expeditions to southern China, Rock was not the only western plant collector working there, but his collecting was unique in that he collected thoroughly, not exotics only. His botanical work introduced various conifers and hundreds of species of rhododendron to the U.S.
Sources
Edwards, Mike. “Our Man in China,” National Geographic Vol. 191, No.1, Jan.1997 (p.62-81).
