Frank Nicholas Meyer (30 November 1875 – 2 June 1918) was a United States Department of Agriculture explorer who travelled to Asia to collect new plant species.

A particular focus of the program was to introduce drought resistant plants suitable for dry land farming, a demand driven by concentrated agricultural expansion into the Great Plains.

[7][8] Meyer's 2,500 plant introductions[1] include wild and cultivated forage crops, such as alfalfa, drought-hardy small grains, such as sorghum, and many varieties of citrus, stone fruits, and nuts.

[10] Frank Meyer accepted David Fairchild's proposition to collect plants for the USDA in China and began preparations for the trip, arriving in Peking in September 1905.

In February 1907 in Shanghai, China Meyer had an awkward meeting with Arnold Arboretum plant explorer Ernest H. Wilson concerning collecting requirements; however, they later became good friends.

Meyer concentrated on collecting seeds and scions of fruit trees and other edible plants such as the Chinese pistachio (Pistacia chinensis), wild peach trees (Prunus davidiana) and a dwarf lemon (Citrus x meyeri), as well as ornamentals such as a maple (Acer truncatum), a columnar juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Columnaris’) and the Amur lilac (Syringa amurensis.

After packing his specimens and collecting additional materials at Fairchild's request,the party traveled south to Hangzhou by way of Nanjing, and on to Shanghai and Japan and finally to America.

[11] Meyer's fourth, and last, expedition set off in mid-1916 and was tasked with collecting wild pears (Pyrus ussuriensis and P. calleryana) because they were found to be the only varieties capable of withstanding fire blight (Bacillus amylovrus).

[12] In recognition of his industry, the Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources was struck by his United States Department of Agriculture colleagues, funded by his bequest to the organization.