Frank Nigel Hepper FLS FIBiol (13 March 1929 – 16 May 2013) was an English botanist, best known for his work as editor of The Flora of West Tropical Africa (vols.
[4] He attended Harecroft Hall Preparatory school, Gosforth, where he became friends with Tam Dalyell who later recalled that, even then, the young Hepper was a keen gardener and insisted on using Latin names for plants.
In 1986 he initiated the Rain Forest Genetic Resources Project, run by Kew and funded by the ODA at Limbe Botanic Garden, Cameroon.
At a personal level, Hepper's Christian faith combined with his botanical expertise, and in his own time he studied and wrote about the botany of the Bible and the Holy Lands, travelling in the region both before and after retirement.
He designed the bible garden at St George's Cathedral, Jerusalem and used his knowledge for the botanical analysis of plant remains from the tomb of Tutenkhamun at Kew.