Carl Johann Maximovich (also Karl Ivanovich Maximovich, Russian: Карл Иванович Максимович; 23 November 1827 in

Tula, Russia Tula ( rus, Тула, p=ˈtulə) is the largest city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast in Russia, located south of Moscow. Tula is located in the northern Central Russian Upland on the banks of the Upa River, a tributary of the Oka. ...

– 16 February 1891 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) was a Russian

botanist 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 wo ...

. Maximovich spent most of his life studying the flora of the countries he had visited in the Far East, and naming many new species. He worked at the

Saint Petersburg Botanical Gardens The main Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden, officially known as the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Komarov Botanical Institute's Botanical Garden of Peter the Great (russian: Ботанический сад Петра Великого Б ...

from 1852 as curator of the

herbarium 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 ...

collection, becoming Director in 1869.

History

Born a Baltic-German, his name at birth was Karl Ivanovich Maksimovich, but he changed it to the

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 **Ge ...

version of his name for his scientific work.Japan’s botanical sunrise plant exploration around the Meiji Restoration Peter Barnes
(originally published in Curtis's Botanical Magazine 18(1): 117-131 (2001)) He graduated in biology from the institution which is now

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

in (1850), he was a pupil of

Alexander G. von Bunge Alexander Georg von Bunge (russian: Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Бу́нге; – ) was a Russian botanist. He is best remembered for scientific expeditions into Asia and especially Siberia. Early life and education Bunge was b ...

. From 1853 to 1857 he traveled around the world. He travelled with another Baltic-German

Leopold von Schrenck Peter Leopold von Schrenck (russian: Леопольд Иванович фон Шренк; 1826 – 8 January 1894) was a Russian zoologist, geographer and ethnographer. Biography Schrenck came from a Baltic German family, and was born and b ...

to the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

region in eastern Asia. From 1859 to 1864 he also he visited China, Korea and Japan. He arrived in Japan in late 1860, initially basing his operations in

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

. He traveled extensively in southern Japan and for much of 1862 including the region of

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

and

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

, he ended that year in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. He also explored much of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

. He was particularly involved with the flora of Japan, following the footsteps of notably

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala Un ...

, and

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

. His assistant in Japan was Sukawa Chonosuke, whose name was given by Maximovich to the flower

Trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...

tschonoskii. He also studied 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 Tibet, concluding that it was chiefly composed of immigrants from Mongolia and the Himalaya. Commissioned by the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

, he purchased from von Siebold's widow the set of eight volumes of the famous collection of Japanese botanical illustrations drawn by several Japanese artists. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1888.

Named in his honor

* '' Acer maximowiczianum'': Nikko maple, China & Japan * ''Atriplex maximowicziana'': Maximovich's Saltbush * ''

Betula maximowicziana ''Betula maximowicziana'', the monarch birch, is a species of birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely rela ...

'': Monarch Birch, Japan * ''

Crataegus maximowiczii ''Crataegus maximowiczii'' is a species of hawthorn with fruit that are red to purple-black. See also * List of hawthorn species with black fruit References maximowiczii {{Crataegus-stub ...

'' Schneid. * ''Kalopanax pictus'' var ''maximowiczii'': China, Manchuria, Korea, Japan 1865 * ''

Lilium leichtlinii ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

'' Hooker f. var. ''maximowiczii'' (Regel) Baker: (also named after the German botanist

Max Leichtlin Maximilian Leichtlin (20 October 1831, Karlsruhe – 3 September 1910, Baden-Baden) was a German horticulturalist. From 1846 he worked as a gardener at several sites in Europe, then spent several years engaged in travels. After returning from S ...

) * ''

Picea maximowiczii ''Picea maximowiczii'', the Japanese bush spruce, is a species of conifer in the pine family. It is endemic to Japan; its range is limited to Akaishi Mountains, Okuchichibu Mountains and the Yatsugatake Mountains on Honshu , historically cal ...

'': Maximovich Spruce, Japan * ''

Populus maximowiczii ''Populus suaveolens'', called the Mongolian poplar, Korean poplar and Japanese poplar, is a species of flowering plant in the genus '' Populus'', native to all of northern Asia, the Korean peninsula, the Kurils, and northern Japan. It is a tree ...

'': Maximovich' Poplar * Maximowicz's vole ('' Microtus maximowiczii'') for more species

Plants named by him

Maximovich described and named over 2300 plants which were previously unknown to science.IPNI Results for Maxim.
International Plant Names Index 2005. * Genus '' Circaeaster'' Maxim. – family Circaeasteraceae * ''Acer argutum'' Maxim. * ''Acer barbinerve'' Maxim. * ''Acer capillipes'' Maxim. * ''Acer miyabei'' Maxim. * ''Acer mono'' Maxim. * ''Acer nikoense'' Maxim. * ''Acer tschonoskii'' Maxim. * ''

Berberis thunbergii ''Berberis thunbergii'', the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and North America, w ...

'' Maxim. * ''

Buddleja alternifolia ''Buddleja alternifolia'', known as alternate-leaved butterfly-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family, which is endemic to Gansu, China. A substantial deciduous shrub growing to tall and wide, it bears grey-green leaves and ...

'' Maxim. * ''Calanthe reflexa'' Maxim. * ''Elaeagnus oldhamii'' Maxim. * ''Goodyera macrantha'' Maxim. * ''

Juglans mandshurica ''Juglans mandshurica'' (), also known as Manchurian walnut, or Tigernut, is a deciduous tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (section ''Cardiocaryon''), native to the Eastern Asiatic Region ( China, Russian Far East, North Korea and South Korea). It ...

'' Maxim. * ''Liparis japonica'' Maxim. * ''Pedicularis artselaeri'' Maxim. – family Scrophulariaceae * ''Platanthera hologlottis'' Maxim. * ''Rhododendron schlippenbachii'' Maxim. * ''Trichosanthes kirilowii'' Maxim. * ''Trillium tschonoskii'' Maxim. - Japan, Korea, northeastern China, and far-eastern Russia * ''Tulotis ussuriensis'' (Maxim.) Hara * ''Yoania japonica'' Maxim.

Selected works

* Rhamneae orientali-asiaticae (1866) * Rhododendrae Asia Orientalis (1870) * Monograph on genus Lespedeza (1873) * Enumeratio plantarum hucusque in Mongolia : nec non adjacente parte Turkestaniae Sinensis lectarum (1889) * Flora Tangutica : sive enumeratio plantarum regionis Tangut (AMDO) provinciae Kansu, nec non Tibetiae praesertim orientaliborealis atque tsaidam : ex collectionibus N.M. Przewalski atque G.N. Potanin (1889) * Diagnoses plantarum novarum asiaticarum. VI
Primitae Florae Amurensis
(Flora of the Amur Region) in Bulletin de L’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg (1859).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximovich, Karl 1827 births 1891 deaths Baltic-German people Botanists active in China Botanists active in Japan Botanists with author abbreviations Bryologists Demidov Prize laureates Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences 19th-century botanists from the Russian Empire Explorers from the Russian Empire People from Tula, Russia Pteridologists University of Tartu alumni