Background
Munro was born as eldest son of William Munro in Druid Stoke, Gloucestershire (now in Bristol) in 1818.
Munro was born as eldest son of William Munro in Druid Stoke, Gloucestershire (now in Bristol) in 1818.
In 1834 he entered the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot as an ensign. He was promoted Lieutenant in April 1836, Captain in July 1844, Mayor in May 1852 and Lieutenant Colonel in November 1853. He served many years with his regiment in India but during the Battle of Maharajpore he was severely wounded on 24 December 1843.
Munro became a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1840.
He conducted collecting expeditions to India (1834-1838), Kashmir (1847), and Barbados (1870-1875). His main research field were tropical grasses, including the bamboo species of which he published a monograph in 1868.
The genera Munroa, Munronia and Munrochloa are named in his honour. Munro died in Taunton, Somerset on 29 January 1880.
This botanist is denoted by the author transcript Munro when citing a botanical name.