Christian Schkuhr (14 May 1741,

Pegau Pegau () is a town in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany, situated in a fertile plain, on the White Elster, 18 m. S.W. from Leipzig by the railway to Zeitz. It has two Evangelical churches, that of St. Lawrence being a fine Gothic structure ...

– 17 July 1811,

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

) was a German

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

, artist and

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 studied at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

; while continuing to work as a gardener, he also became a master of design and engraving. An adherent of

Linnaean taxonomy Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts: # The particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his ''Systema Naturae'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus t ...

, he devoted himself to studying the flora of

. The genus ''

Schkuhria ''Schkuhria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Bahieae within the family Asteraceae. False threadleaf is a common name. The genus was named in honour of Christian Schkuhr (1741-1811), a German gardener and physical scientist at the Univ ...

'' was named after him by

Conrad Moench Conrad Moench (sometimes written Konrad Mönch; 15 August 1744 – 6 January 1805) was a German botanist, professor of botany at Marburg University from 1786 until his death. He wrote 'Methodus Plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis' in 179 ...

(now considered synonymous with ''

Sigesbeckia ''Sigesbeckia'' is a genus of annual plants in the family Asteraceae. St. Paul's wort is a common name for some of the species. ''Sigesbeckia'' is widely distributed and has been traditionally used for the management of chronic diseases, includ ...

''). He is also commemorated with the genus '' Platyschkuhria'' (

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

) Rydb..

Principal works

* ''Botanisches Handbuch der mehresten theils in Deutschland wildwachsenden : theils ausländischen in Deutschland unter freyem Himmel ausdauernden Gewächse'', 1791 – Manual of botany. * ''Beschreibung und Abbildung der Theils bekannten, Theils noch nicht beschriebenen Arten von Riedgräsern nach eigenen Beobachtungen und vergrösserter Darstellung der kleinsten Theile'', 1801. * ''Histoire des Carex ou laiches, contenant la description et les figures coloriées de toutes les espèces connues et d'un grand nombre d'espèces nouvelles''. 1802 – Monograph on

sedges The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

, containing descriptions and colored figures of all known species and a large number of new species. * ''Deutschlands kryptogamische Gewächse''. 1804 German

cryptogamic plants 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 ...

.OCLC Classify
published works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schkuhr, Christian 1741 births 1811 deaths People from Pegau People from the Electorate of Saxony 18th-century German botanists German gardeners 19th-century German botanists