Robert Cantley is a conservationist and Managing Director of Borneo Exotics, a Sri Lankan-based plant nursery specialising in tissue-cultured and seed-grown Nepenthes species and hybrids. Cantley has contributed to a number of papers on Nepenthes.Cantley, R. 2000. Proceedings of the 3rd Conference of the International Carnivorous Plant Society: 9.Rybka, V., R. Rybková & R. Cantley 2005. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 34(2): 47–50.Cantley, R., C.M. Clarke, J. Cokendolpher, B. Rice & A. Wistuba 2005. Nepenthes clipeata Survival Project. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 34(4): 116–120. The species Nepenthes robcantleyi,Cheek, M. 2011. Nepenthes robcantleyi sp. nov. (Nepenthaceae) from Mindanao, Philippines. Nordic Journal of Botany 29(6): 677–681. the natural hybrid Nepenthes × cantleyi and the cultivar Nepenthes 'Cantley's Red' are named after him.
Borneo Exotics
Borneo Exotics was established by Cantley and Diana Williams in 1997.McPherson, S.R. 2009. Borneo Exotics. In: Pitcher Plants of the Old World. Volume 2. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole. pp. 1294–1301. As of 2009, the nursery stocked more than 130 Nepenthes taxa, totalling over 180,000 plants annually. In Pitcher Plants of the Old World, Stewart McPherson described it as "the world's foremost specialist producer of Nepenthes species".
As of 2011, Borneo Exotics operated a number of growing facilities spread over two locations: lowland species were kept at a nursery in Moragahahena and highlanders in Lindula. The company won a Gold Medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011, and a Silver Gilt Medal in 2005.Fernando, H. 2011. Lanka’s Borneo Exotics blooms again at Chelsea Flower Show. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), May 29, 2011. Fernando, H. 2007. Borneo Exotics wins another gold at Chelsea. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), June 3, 2007. Borneo Exotics strikes gold for the third time at Chelsea Flower Show. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), May 30, 2010. Borneo Exotics also won a silver medal and two other awards at the World Orchid Exhibition in 2011.Fernando, H. 2011. After Tacos, Borneo Exotics wins awards in Singapore too. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), November 27, 2011.
References
Attygalle, R. 2013. Trapped in Nepenthes. The Island, September 21, 2013. Attygalle, R. 2013. Exotic plant named after Malani Fonseka. The Island, November 23, 2013.