Johannes Burman

He started his studies in Leiden in 1722 under Herman Boerhaave, and qualified in 1728 as a doctor of medicine, after which he practised in Amsterdam.

Carl Linnaeus, in 1735 on a trip through Holland, was invited by Burman, carrying a letter of recommendation from Herman Boerhaave.

It was not in Burman's collections and Clifford said he could have it in exchange for Linnaeus who was employed to survey the gardens and the menagerie at Hartekamp.

Burmann published his book with plants from the Cape Colony based on a collection by Nicolaes Witsen, the work of Caspar Commelin and Simon van der Stel.

For research and as illustrations on plants from the West Indies he used the work of the French botanist Charles Plumier.