Christian Luerssen (6 May 1843,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

– 28 June 1916) was a German

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 ...

. He was an authority in the field of

pteridology 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 th ...

. In 1872, at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, he graduated as a university teacher of botany, and was later appointed professor of botany at the Forest Academy at

Neustadt-Eberswalde Eberswalde () is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the Germany, German State (States of Germany, Bundesland / ''federated state'') of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42,144 (censu ...

(1884). From 1888, he served as a professor at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...

. After his death, a portion of his botanical collection (including European

pteridophyte A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

s) was donated by Otto Bjurling to the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Luerssen was the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

of the family

Sciadopityaceae ''Sciadopitys verticillata'', the or Japanese umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. It is the sole member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus ''Sciadopitys'', a living fossil with no close relatives. The oldest fossils of ''S ...

(1877). He has a number of plant species named after him, such as ''Koeleria luerssenii'' (grass species) and ''Cassia luerssenii'' (family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Written works

* ''Filices Graeffeanae. Beitrag zur kenntniss der farnflora der Viti-, Samoa-, Tonga- und Ellice's inseln'', 1871 - Contribution to the knowledge 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 of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and the

Ellice Islands Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...

. * ''Grundzüge der Botanik'' (11 editions between 1877 and 1893) - Basics of botany. * ''Die Farnpflanzen, oder, Gefassbündelkryptogamen (Pteridophyta)'' - Ferns, or vascular-bundle

cryptogam A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

s (

Pteridophyta A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

). * ''Handbuch der systematischen botanik, mit besonderer berücksichtigung der arzneipflanzen''. Volume 1, 1879 - Manual of

plant systematics The history of plant systematics—the biological classification of plants—stretches from the work of ancient Greek to modern evolutionary biologists. As a field of science, plant systematics came into being only slowly, early plant lo ...

, with special consideration to

medicinal plants Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

. * ''Die Pflanzen der Pharmacopoea germanica botanisch erläutert'', 1883 - Plants of the

Pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography ''pharmacopœia'', meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by ...

Germanica botanical explained. * ''Die einführung japanischer waldbäume in die deutschen forsten'', 1885 - Introduction of Japanese forest trees into German forests.WorldCat Identities
(list of publications)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luerssen, Christian 1843 births 1916 deaths 19th-century German botanists Pteridologists Scientists from Bremen University of Königsberg faculty