Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Germany – 10 October 1871, in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

, Central America), was a German botanist. He travelled widely and collected and described plants from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. In 1844 he travelled to the United Kingdom to study

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

. On the recommendation of Sir WJ Hooker, he was appointed naturalist on the voyage of exploration of the American west coast and Pacific by

Henry Kellett Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, (2 November 1806 – 1 March 1875) was a British naval officer and explorer. Career Born at Clonacody in Tipperary County, Ireland, on 2 November 1806, Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822. He spent three yea ...

on HMS ''Herald'', 1847–1851, along with the naturalists

Thomas Edmondston Thomas Edmondston (1825–1846) was a British-born botanist, born in Buness, Unst. The family of Edmondston (also spelt Edmonston) was prominent in 19th-century Shetland. Thomas Edmondston's uncle, also Thomas Edmondston, was laird of the B ...

, and

John Goodridge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. The expedition returned via

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, calling at the Cape in March 1851. Here he met up with his old acquaintance Zeyher, and with Baur and Juritz they climbed

Table Mountain Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...

on 13 March 1851, Ecklon being unwell and unable to accompany them. On 16 March Zeyher introduced him to Bowie at Wynberg. He left the Cape on 27 March and was back in England on 6 June 1851. The botanical results of the voyage were published as ''Botany of the Voyage of HMS Herald'' and he was awarded a Ph.D. by the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

in 1853. In 1859 he travelled to Fiji. Based on his travels he wrote ''Viti: An Account of a Government Mission to the Vitian or Fijian Islands in the Years 1860-1'', and a botanical catalogue of the flora of the islands, entitled ''Flora Vitiensis: a description of the plants of the Viti or Fiji Islands with an account of their history and properties''. This was published in 10 parts between 1865 and 1873. In this work, Seeman named and described 204 of the 297 currently identified plant species. It was the foundation for ''Flora Vitiensis Nova'', published by Albert C. Smith from 1979 to 1991. In the 1860s he visited

, travelling in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in 1864 and

from 1866 to 1867. He later managed a sugar estate in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and the Javali gold mine in Nicaragua, where he finally succumbed to

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. He started and edited the journal ''Bonplandia'' from 1853–1862 and the ''

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' is a monthly journal that was published from 1863 to 1942, and founded by Berthold Carl Seemann Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Centra ...

'' from 1863–1871. "Revision of the natural order Hederaceae" was a series of articles written by Seemann on what is now called the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguish ...

. They appeared in the ''

'' from 1864 to 1868.Berthold Carl Seeman. 1864 - 1868. "Revision of the natural order Hederaceae". ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' vol. 2(1864):235-250, 289-309 – vol. 3(1865):73-81, 173-181, 265-276, 361-363 – vol. 4(1866):352-353 – vol. 5(1867):236-239, 285-286 – vol. 6(1868):129-142. (see External links below). In 1868, Seemann published a book by the same title.Berthold Carl Seemann. 1868. ''Revision of the Natural Order Hederaceae: Being a Reprint, with Numerous Additions and Corrections, of a Series of Papers Published in the "Journal of Botany" British and Foreign''. Original publisher: Reeve and Company. Reprint: Book on Demand Pod. It contained some original material, as well as reprints of the articles. It was the definitive work on Araliaceae until

Hermann Harms Hermann August Theodor Harms (16 July 1870 – 27 November 1942) was a German taxonomist and botanist. Harms was born in Berlin. He worked as a botanist at the Botanical Museum in Berlin. He was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. ...

published his monograph on the family in ''

Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (1887–1915) by Adolf Engler (1844–1930) and Karl Anton Prantl is a complete revision of plant families down to generic level and often even further. As such it forms part of the Engler system of plant t ...

'' in 1898. The plant genus '' Seemannia'' Regel. (

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wi ...

), ''Seemannantha'' Alef. and ''

Seemannaralia ''Seemannaralia gerrardii'', commonly known as the wild-maple or mock carrot tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is the sole member of genus ''Seemannaralia'', and is endemic (ecology), endemic to South Africa, wher ...

'' R. Viguier (

) were named in his honour.

References

External links

* *
Seemann, BertholdSeemann, Berthold, 1825-1871Biodiversity Heritage Library
*
Journal of botany, British and foreign volumes 2-6 (1864-1868)JTitlesBiodiversity Heritage Library
:
volume 2 (1864)page 235page 289volume 3 (1865)page 73page 173page 265page 361volume 4 (1866)page 352volume 5 (1867)page 236page 285volume 6 (1868)page 129

''Revision of the Natural Order Hederaceae''Google Books

''Revision of the natural order Hederaceae''Amazon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeman, Berthold Carl 1825 births 1871 deaths 19th-century German botanists Botanists with author abbreviations Scientists from Hanover