Overview: Originally from England, the Palmer family settled in Missouri when E. J. Palmer was 14 years old. Largely self-taught, Palmer began collecting plants for the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Palmer continued work as a plant collector for Charles Sprague Sargent and the Arnold Arboretum, beginning in 1921. Palmer’s relationship with the arboretum continued and he published several works and proved instrumental in the arboretums collection of early Native American artifacts. Palmer’s collection...