Adolf Engler (1844 – 1930) was a German botanist, perhaps "The German Botanist". He is very important, among other complishments, for his works on Plant Taxonomy and Phytogeography, like Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien (The natural plant families), edited with Karl A. E. von Prantl. Up to the present time, his foremost system of plant classification, the Engler System, is still used by many herbaria and is followed by writers of many manuals and floras; it is still the only system that treats all 'plants' (in the wider sense, algae to flowering plants) in such depth ^[1]. 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Taxonomy, sometimes alpha taxonomy, is the science of finding, describing and naming organisms, thus giving rise to taxa. ... Phytogeography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution of plant species. ... One of the prime systems of plant taxonomy, the Engler system was devised by Adolf Engler. ... In Botany, a herbarium is a collection of preserved plants or plant parts, mainly in a dried form. ... In Botany a Flora (or Floræ) is a collective term for plant life and can also refer to a descriptive catalogue of the plants of any geographical area, geological period, etc. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ...

He received the Linnean Medal in 1913. The International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) established the Engler Medal in his honour in 1986, to be awarded for outstanding contributions to plant taxonomy (see the list of Engler Medal awards). The Linnean Medal (formerly referred to as the Gold Medal) of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1888, and is awarded annually to alternately a botanist or a zoologist or (as has been common since 1958) to one of each in the same year. ... The International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) is devoted to plant systematics, taxonomy and nomenclature. ...

The journal Englera (ISSN 0170-4818) published by the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden, Germany is also named after him. Many genera (in various 'plant' groups) are named in his honour, such as Englerastrum, Englerella, Engleria, Englerina, Englerocharis, Englerodaphne, Englerodendron and Englerophytum.

This is a list of botanists by their author abbreviation. ... In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to the person (or team) who valid published the name, i. ... A botanical name is a formal name conforming to the ICBN. As with its zoological and bacterial equivalents it may also be called a scientific name. Botanical names may be in one part (genus and above), two parts (species) or three parts (below the rank of species). ...

Biography

Adolf Engler was born on March 25, 1844 in Sagan, Prussia, now Żagań, in western Poland as "Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler", and died in Berlin, Germany, on October 10, 1930). March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... CoA of Å»agaÅ„ Å»agaÅ„ (French and German Sagan) is a town in western Poland with 26,500 inhabitants (2004). ... Berlin is the capital city and a single state of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in Leap years). ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

He studied and obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in 1866. After some years of teaching he became, in 1871, custodian of botanical collections of the Botanische Institute der L.M.U. München (Botanical Institute of Munich), remaining there until 1878, when he accepted a professorship at the University of Kiel, wherein he stayed until 1884 teaching Systematic Botany. Also in 1878, Engler was elected into Leopoldina, German Academy of Natural History. He went back to Breslau in 1884, as director of the Botanical Garden, succeeding Goeppert, and appointed professor of Botany at University of Breslau. From 1889 to 1921 Engler was professor at University of Berlin, and director of the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden, transforming it in one of the greatest botanical gardens of the world. The University of Breslau (Universität Breslau) was a university in Breslau, Germany, which existed from 1702 until the city with the rest of Silesia was occupied by Stalin and given to the Peoples Republic of Poland after the Second World War. ... WrocÅ‚aw, (Polish pronunciation: (?), Czech: , German: ( (help· info)), Latin: Wratislavia or Vratislavia) is the capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River (Odra). ... The University of Kiel, in full the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (in short: CAU), is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. ... The German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldinais the oldest learned society in Germany. ... There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der Künste Berlin) This is...

He visited several regions of the world, enlarging the knowledge of floristic distribution, especially of Africa.

Works

Plant Taxonomy Works

Besides the important works in General Plant Taxonomy, he had also expertise in some taxa as Saxifraga, Araceae, Burseraceae and others. Species many, see text Saxifraga is a plant genus with about 440 known species of perennials, making it the largest genus of the Saxifragaceae family. ... Genera See text The arums comprise the Family Araceae (including the numerous aroids subfamily): monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. ... Genera See text Burseraceae is a family of 17-18 genera and about 540 species of flowering plants, also known as the torchwood family or incense tree family. ...

Adolf Engler collaborated with several other great botanists, including with Alphonse de Candolle on the Monographiae Phanerogamarum (Monographs of flowering plants), and C.F.P. von Martius on the monumental work Flora Brasiliensis (Flora of Brazil). Carl F.P. von Martius Illustration from Flora Brasiliensis Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (April 17, 1794–December 13, 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. ...

He founded the Journal Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie (Botanical yearbook for systematics, plant phylogeny and phytogeography; ISSN: 0006-8152), published in Leipzig, Germany, which has continued in publication since 1881 until today. (help· info) [] (Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the Federal State (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ...

• Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien (The natural plant families), edited with Karl A. E. von Prantl, with the collaboration of many notable experts, 1887-1915, 23 volumes. This enormous series is one of the very few detailed works (since Linnaeus) to attempt the classification of 'plants' from algae to flowering plants, and constitues an invaluable work. A second, incomplete edition is being produced (starting in 1924, latest release 1995 by Duncker und Humblot Verlag, Berlin) ^[2].
• Das Pflanzenreich (The plant kingdom), with the collaboration of many notable experts, 1900-1968. This is a monographic series on the plant kingdom that is presently incomplete ^[3].
• Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien, in the 12th ed., edited by H. Melchior & E. Werdermann, with the collaboration of many notable experts, 1954-1964. This is the most recent summary of the Engler System and gives descriptions of the higher taxonomic levels. In two volumes ^[4].

Phytogeographic Works

He was one of the pioneers in this field of science, highlighting the importance of factors like geology on biodiversity, and defined Biogeographical Regions in 1879. The Biogeographic Regions are schemes of organisms distribution patterns on Earth`s surface. ...

• Vegetation der Erde (Vegetation of the earth) 1896, with O. Drude.

See also

• Biogeographic Regions
• Phylogenetic System
• Engler System

The Biogeographic Regions are schemes of organisms distribution patterns on Earth`s surface. ... Phylogenetic System: This is a system of biological classification. ... One of the prime systems of plant taxonomy, the Engler system was devised by Adolf Engler. ...

References

• Lack, Hans Walter: Botanisches Museum Berlin: Adolf Engler- Die Welt in einem Garten (The world in one garden). Prestel, München, Germany, 2000. ISBN 3791323156
• ↑  Woodland, Dennis W. (1997). Contemporary Plant Systematics, 2nd Ed., Andrews University Press, ISBN 1-883925-14-2

External links

• Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie
• Englera