Casimiro Gómez Ortega

Casimiro Gómez Ortega (4 March 1741 Añover de Tajo, Spain, 30 August 1818 Madrid, Spain) [cite web |title = List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660 – 2007 K - Z: A complete listing of all Fellows and Foreign Members since the foundation of the Society|url = http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=4275| publisher = The Royal Society| date = July 2007 | format = PDF| accessdate = 2007-06-23] was a Spanish physician, and botanist who was the First Professor of the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. Under Charles III of Spain Gómez de Ortega directed the formation of the Royal Botanical Garden as a place, in particular, to collect and study the new species of plants being identified by European explorers. Gómez de Ortega published extensively on plant species, and on the economic botany of plants collected during Spanish sponsored explorations of South America.

He described the genera "Echeandia" (Anthericaceae), "Maurandya" (Plantaginaceae), "Pascalia" (Asteraceae), and "Sesamoides" (Resedaceae).

The genus "Gomortega", a tree endemic to Chile, is named after him.

He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1777. [cite journal| last = Harvey| first = John H. | title = Casimiro Gomez de Ortega, F.R.S. (1740-1818): A Link between Spain and Britain | journal = Garden History| volume = 2| issue = 3| pages = 22–26| date = Summer, 1974| doi = 10.2307/1586539| accessdate = 2007-06-24]

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