Ambroise Colette Alexandre Verschaffelt (11 December 1825 – 16 May 1886) was a distinguished Belgian horticulturist and author. His grandfather Pierre-Antoine (1764–1844) was amongst the founders of the "Floralies gantoises" in 1808. His father Alexandre (1801–1850) was a major horticulturist of his city. The Verschaffelts were a family of Belgian nurserymen specializing a.o. in camellia, azalea, palmtrees. They introduced many new species from abroad – in particular from South America – collected for them by "plant hunters". They published the Nouvelle Iconographie des Camellias (1848–1860) : it continues Lorenzo Berlèse’s work Iconographie du genre Camellia. In 1854, Ambroise took over from Charles Lemaire "Le Jardin Fleuriste" which became "L'Illustration Horticole" in 1858. Ambroise so