Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. He is notable for his work on

plant taxonomy Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...

and

phytogeography Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution ...

, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with Karl A. E. von Prantl. Even now, his system of plant classification, the

Engler system One of the prime systems of plant taxonomy, the Engler system was devised by Adolf Engler (1844–1930), and is featured in two major taxonomic texts he authored or co-authored. His influence is reflected in the use of the terms "Engler School" and ...

, is still used by many

herbaria A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

and is followed by writers of many manuals and

floras Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Sometimes b ...

. It is still the only system that treats all 'plants' (in the wider sense,

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s) in such depth. Engler published a prodigious number of taxonomic works. He used various artists to illustrate his books, notably Joseph Pohl (1864–1939), an illustrator who had served an apprenticeship as a wood-engraver. Pohl's skill drew Engler's attention, starting a collaboration of some 40 years. Pohl produced more than 33 000 drawings in 6 000 plates for ''Die naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien''. He also illustrated ''Das Pflanzenreich'' (1900–1953), ''Die Pflanzenwelt Afrikas'' (1908–1910), ''Monographien afrikanischer Pflanzenfamilien'' (1898–1904) and the journals ''Engler's botanische Jahrbücher''.

Biography

Adolf Engler was born on March 25, 1844, in Sagan, Silesia, now

Żagań Żagań (French language, French and , ) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019), capital of Żagań County in the Lubusz Voivodeship, located in the historic region of Lower Silesia. Founded in the 12th ce ...

, in western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

as Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler, and died in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, on October 10, 1930. He studied and obtained a PhD from the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(now

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland) in 1866. After some years of teaching, he became, in 1871, custodian of botanical collections of the ''Botanische Institute der Ludwig Maximilian University München'' (Botanical Institute of Munich), remaining there until 1878, when he accepted a professorship at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

, where 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 the University of Breslau. From 1889 to 1921, Engler was a professor at

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, and director of the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden, transforming it into one of the greatest botanical gardens of the world. He visited several regions of the world, enlarging the knowledge of floristic distribution, especially of Africa.

Works

Plant taxonomy

Besides his important work in general plant taxonomy, he was also an expert in some taxa, such as ''

Saxifraga ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 473 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

'',

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

Burseraceae The Burseraceae are a moderate-sized family of 17-19 genera and about 540 species of woody flowering plants. The actual numbers given in taxonomic sources differ according to taxonomic revision at the time of writing. The Burseraceae are also ...

, and others. Engler edited the

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

''Araceae exsiccatae et illustratae''. Adolf Engler collaborated with several other great botanists, including

Alphonse de Candolle Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (27 October 18064 April 1893) was a French-Swiss botanist, the son of the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. Biography De Candolle, son of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, first devot ...

on the ''Monographiae Phanerogamarum'' (''Monographs of Flowering Plants''), and C.F.P. von Martius on the monumental work '' Flora Brasiliensis'' (''Flora of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

''). 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 Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Germany, which has continued in publication from 1881 to the present. In 2010, this publication changed its name to ''Plant Diversity and Evolution: Phylogeny, Biogeography, Structure and Function'', ISSN 1869-6155. * '' Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with Karl A. E. 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 constitutes an invaluable work. A second, incomplete edition was produced (1924–1980) in 28 parts by Duncker und Humblot Verlag, Berlin). Some volumes have been re-issued in English. The second edition was hard to use for many years because no part of it was indexed until 1984, when an index was published in the

Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden The ''Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden'' is a long-established major peer-reviewed journal of botany, established in 1914 by the Missouri Botanical Garden, under the directorship of botanist and phycologist, George Thomas Moore, and still ...

. * ''Das Pflanzenreich'' (''The Plant Kingdom''), with the collaboration of many notable experts, 1900–1968: This monographic series on the plant kingdom is presently incomplete. * '' Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien'', first published in 1892. The 12th edition, edited by H. Melchior & E. Werdermann, with the collaboration of many notable experts, was published between 1954 and 1964. This is the most recent summary of the Engler system and gives descriptions of the higher taxonomic levels, in two volumes.

Phytogeography

He was one of the pioneers in this field of science, highlighting the importance of factors such as geology on biodiversity, and defined biogeographical regions in 1879. * ''Vegetation der Erde'' (''Vegetation of the Earth''), 1896, with O. Drude * ''Die Pflanzenwelt Ost-Afrikas und der Nachbargebiete'' (''The Plant World of Eastern Africa and the Adjacent Regions''), 1895
available at Biodiversity Heritage Library

Recognition

He received the

Linnean Medal The Linnean 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 medal was of gold until 1976, and ...

in 1913. The

International Association for Plant Taxonomy The International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) is an organization established to promote an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitate international communication of research between botanists, and oversee matters of uniformity and ...

established the Engler Medal in his honour in 1986, to be awarded for outstanding contributions to plant taxonomy. Engler was elected an International Member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1906. He was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 1920. In 1925, he was elected an International Member of the United States National Academy of Science. The journal ''Englera'' (ISSN 0170-4818) published by the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden, Germany, is also named after him. Many

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

(in various 'plant' groups) are named in his honour, such as ''Englerarum'', ''Englerastrum'' (now a synonym of Coleus), ''Englerella'' (now a synonym of

Pouteria ''Pouteria'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees in the gutta-percha family (biology), family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical Americas, with outlier species in Cameroon and Malesia. It includes the canistel ...

Aubl.), '' Engleria'', '' Englerina'', '' Englerocharis'', ''

Englerodaphne ''Englerodaphne'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. Its native range is from southern Sudan to southern Africa; it is found in Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Provinces (of South Africa), Kenya, Sud ...

'', ''

Englerodendron ''Englerodendron'' is a small genus of legumes belonging to the family Fabaceae, that are native to tropical Africa. It is found in the countries of Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivor ...

'' and ''

Englerophytum ''Englerophytum'' is a group of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus in 1914. ''Englerophytum'' consists primarily of trees. Their leaves are leathery with dense appressed hairs on the undersides. The genus is widespread across t ...

''. He is also honoured with ''

Engleromyces ''Engleromyces'' is a genus of fungi in the family Xylariaceae. The genus contains two species, the type species, type ''Engleromyces goetzei'' (found in Africa and Asia) and ''E. sinensis'' (found in China), described as new in 2010. The ge ...

'', and '' Englerodothis'' (2

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

). Engler is commemorated in the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''adolphi''.

References

Bibliography

Works by Engler

* * * (Published as a series of volumes or fascicles "Hefte" each containing one or more monographs. Each monograph has separate paging and index. The volumes are numbered in sequence of publication. The systematic sequence of the families is indicated on the cover page e.g. ''225: Halorrhagaceae'' 1905 Hefte IV vol. 23), or ** *

Works about Engler

* * * *
Frans A. Stafleu. "Engler, Heinrich Gustav Adolf." Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008.

Frans A. Stafleu. An Engler episode. Occasional Papers of the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany No. 16, A Volume in Honor of Geneva Sayre on the Occasion of her 70th Birthday (June, 1981), pp. 147-151

Adolf Heinrich Gustav Engler, Botaniker. Berlin 2002

Websites

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engler, Adolf 19th-century German botanists 20th-century German botanists 1844 births 1930 deaths Botanists active in Africa Botanists with author abbreviations Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences German phytogeographers German taxonomists Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Scientists from the Province of Silesia People from Żagań University of Breslau alumni Academic staff of the University of Kiel Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala International members of the American Philosophical Society