August Johann Georg Karl Batsch (28 October 1761 – 29 September 1802) was a German
naturalist. He was a recognised authority on
mushrooms
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the na ...
, and also described new species of
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s,
bryophytes
The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited i ...
, and
seed plants
A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...
.
Life and career
Batsch was born in
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
,
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...
to George Lorenz Bratsch and Ernestine (''nee'' Franke) Bratsch. He studied at the Jena City School, and then had private tuition. He showed an aptitude for natural sciences and drawing, and so subsequently studied medicine and philosophy at the University of
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
(now known as the
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The un ...
), entering in 1772 and obtaining his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in philosophy in 1781 and in medicine in 1786, his supervisor being
Justus Christian Loder
Justus Ferdinand Christian Loder (12 March 1753 – 16 April 1832) was a German anatomist and surgeon who was a native of Riga.
Biography
In 1777 Loder earned his medical doctorate at the University of Göttingen, and the following year was ap ...
. Batsch was married in 1787 to Amalie Pfaundel. They had three children, Friedrich (born 1789), George Friedrich Karl (1792), and Karoline (1795). He died in 1802 after a short illness.
In 1786 Batsch began to teach
natural history at the University of Jena and in 1787 he was appointed associate professor of medicine and botany. In 1792 he became Professor of
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. He advised
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
on his botanical research. Batsch's organization of plants in progressive forms may have influenced Goethe's thinking on the
transmutation of species
Transmutation of species and transformism are unproven 18th and 19th-century evolutionary ideas about the change of one species into another that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. The French ''Transformisme'' was a term used ...
. In 1790, Batsch founded a botanical garden in Jena, and the ''Naturforschende Gesellschaft'' ("Nature Investigator's Club").
Botany
Batsch discovered almost 200 new species of
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
s, including ''
Clitocybe nebularis
''Clitocybe nebularis'' or ''Lepista nebularis'', commonly known as the clouded agaric or cloud funnel, is an abundant gilled fungus which appears both in conifer-dominated forests and broad-leaved woodland in Europe and North America. Appearin ...
'', ''
Calocera cornea'', ''
Paxillus involutus
''Paxillus involutus'', commonly known as the brown roll-rim, common roll-rim is a basidiomycete fungus that is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. It has been inadvertently introduced to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, ...
'', and ''
Tapinella atrotomentosa
''Tapinella atrotomentosa'', commonly known as the velvet roll-rim or velvet-footed pax, is a species of fungus in the family Tapinellaceae. Although it has gills, it is a member of the pored mushroom order Boletales. August Batsch described t ...
''. He was a recognised authority writing two books on the topic, ''Elenchus Fungorum'' (''Discussion of Fungi'', between 1783 and 1789), which is still highly rated today and ''Versuch einer Anleitung zur Kenntniss und Geschichte der Pflanzen'' (''Attempt at Instruction in the Knowledge and History of Plants'', between 1787 and 1788). ''Versuch einer Anleitung...'' looked into the nature of what we now know to be
fungal
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
s of plants (such as
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...
), but without realizing their origin. Rejecting the system of
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, he began to classify plants on the basis of their external form and shape and to make them generally understandable by means of a clear, precise representation, as best known in his three volume ''Elenchus Fungorum''.While well versed in the
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
of the Jena area, the weakness of his system lay in his lesser familiarity with the plants of the rest of the world.
Other works include ''Dispositio Generum Plantarum Jenensium Secundum Linnaeum et Familias Naturales'', Jena 1786, generally referenced as Dispos. Gen. Pl. Jenens., alternatively titled as ''Dissertatio inauguralis botanica sistens dispositionem generum plantarum Jenensium''.
Dispos. Gen. Pl. Jenens. 1786
/ref> His taxonomic classification of plants is summarised in his last work, the ''Tabula affinitatum regni vegetabilis'' (1802), which was notable for its diagram depicting the network of affinities within the vegetable kingdom. His ''Synopsis vniversalis analytica genervm plantarvm'' (1793–4) is the source for valid names for Melanthiaceae
Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family of flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered members of this family to belong to the ...
and Primulaceae
The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the Onagraceae, evening primrose family), are a family (biology), family of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants ...
.
Zoology
Batsch wrote ''Versuch einer Anleitung, zur Kenntniß und Geschichte der Thiere und Mineralien, für akademische Vorlesungen entworfen, und mit den nöthigsten Abbildungen versehen'', in English Provisional guide to the knowledge, development and history of the animals and minerals, designed for academic lectures. The first part (Erster Theil) ''Allgemeine Geschichte der Natur; besondre der Säugthiere, Vögel, Amphibien und Fische'' German natural history, mammals, birds amphibians and fish appeared in 1788.Part two (Zweyter Theil). ''Besondre Geschichte der Insekten, Gewürme und Mineralien'' on insects, worms and minerals was published in the following year, 1789. He was also known for his work on turtles
Turtles are an order (biology), order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) an ...
.
Selected publications
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Legacy
Batsch is considered one of the most important late eighteenth century naturalists in central Germany.
See also
*List of mycologists
This is a non-exhaustive list of mycologists, or scientists with a specialisation in mycology, with their author abbreviations. Because the study of lichens is traditionally considered a branch of mycology, lichenologists are included in this lis ...
References
Bibliography
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*
Plate
Plate from ''Elenchus fungorum''.
(German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
)
University of Jena botanical garden
Texts of works available at BHL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batsch, August
1761 births
1802 deaths
18th-century German botanists
18th-century German zoologists
Botanists with author abbreviations
German entomologists
German mycologists
German Protestants
German taxonomists
Scientists from Jena
People from Saxe-Weimar