Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer

Adolph Daniel Edward Elmer (June 14, 1870 – 1942) was an American botanist and plant collector.

Elmer was born on June 14, 1870 in Van Dyne, Wisconsin, United States. He was educated at Washington State College and earned an A.M. from Stanford University in 1903. He made extensive plant collections in the Philippines from 1904 to 1927, and also in California, Borneo, and New Guinea. He was editor of Leaflets of Philippine Botany, where he published more than 1,500 new species.

The standard author abbreviation Elmer is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

Despite the urging of family members, Elmer and his wife, Emma (1867–1956), refused to leave American-controlled Manila after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Elmer died on April 17 (or in July), 1942 in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the Philippines. Emma Osterman Elmer survived internment and returned to the United States after the war.

Many taxa are named in honor of Elmer, including Adenostylis elmeri Ames, Begonia elmeri Merr., and Castilleja elmeri Fernald. The genera Adelmeria (Zingiberaceae), Elmera (Saxifragaceae), Elmerinula (Dothideomycetes), and Elmerobryum (Hypnaceae) are also named after him.