John Abercromby Alexander (b. 1854) was appointed Forester in Ceylon in 1885, although he may have lived there earlier, possibly engaged in a planting enterprise. He served as Assistant Conservator of Forests, Central Province, 1889-1893, and appears to have remained on the island until around 1886. He joined the Royal Colonial Institute in 1892. Abercromby lived at Venture Estates, Kalthuritty, Travancore, India, 1896-1898, and in Bedford, England, 1898-1901. By 1905 he was working for the Department of Agriculture of the Companhia de Mocambique at Beira, but how long he remained in Portuguese East Africa is unknown. He was the author of 'Notes on flora of coasts and islands of Portuguese E.A.' in 'Transactions and proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh', 1906.