Dr Maarten Joost Maria Christenhusz (born 27 April 1976) is a Dutch

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 w ...

, natural historian and photographer.

Career

He was born in

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Grona ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...

, received his undergraduate and master's degrees from

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollm ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

, and earned his PhD from the

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Both ...

in 2007. He is an authority on

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 th ...

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνόσ ...

and

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

, and is a contributor to the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disco ...

(compiler of APG IV). He has specialised in

Marattiaceae Marattiaceae is the only family of extant (living) ferns in the order Marattiales. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), Marattiales is the only order in the subclass Marattiidae. The family has six genera and about ...

and he described many species of ''

Danaea ''Danaea'' is a fern genus of approximately 50 species in the eusporangiate fern family Marattiaceae. They are small to intermediately large ferns with erect or creeping rhizomes and usually once-pinnate leaves with opposite pinnae. The fertil ...

'', including ''

Danaea kalevala ''Danaea kalevala'' is a species of fern belonging to the family Marattiaceae. It is endemic to rainforests of the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean. This includes the islands of: Saint Kitts, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Vinc ...

'' from the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. A species of

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

, ''

Dorstenia ''Dorstenia'' is a genus within the mulberry family, Moraceae. Depending on the author, there are said to be 100 to 170 species within this genus, second only in number to the genus ''Ficus'' within Moraceae. ''Dorstenia'' species are mainly kno ...

christenhuszii'' was named in honour of its discoverer. He is editor for the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

. He lives in

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, Surrey, UK. He is the former chief editor and initiator of the botanical journal ''

Phytotaxa ''Phytotaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for rapid publication on any aspect of systematic botany. It publishes on a wide range of subjects, but focuses on new species, monographs, floras, revisions, reviews, and typification issues. ...

'', an associate editor of the ''

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a scientific journal publishing original papers relating to the taxonomy of all plant groups and fungi, including anatomy, biosystematics, cytology, ecology, ethnobotany, electron microscopy, m ...

'' and chief editor of the ''

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering zoology published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Linnean Society. The editor-in-chief is Maarten Christenhusz (Linnean Society). ...

''. He has an interest in

island biogeography Insular biogeography or island biogeography is a field within biogeography that examines the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities. The theory was originally developed to explain the pattern of ...

botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, floristic treatments, horticulture, photography, natural history and

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. A ...

. He works as a botanical consultan

He is the lead author (together with Michael F. Fay and Mark W. Chase) of an encyclopedia of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They a ...

called ''Plants of the World''. Vascular plant families and genera that were named by him or together with colleagues. (See also Taxa named by Maarten J. M. Christenhusz.) Species that were named by him or together with colleagues.

Honours

* President of the International Association of Pteridologists (2009–2019)

Selected bibliography

* APG IV (2016) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV. ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 181(1): 1–20. * M. J. M. Christenhusz, M. F. Fay & M. W. Chase (2017) ''Plants of the World''. Kew Publishing/Chicago University Press. * M. W. Chase, M. J. M. Christenhusz & T. Mirenda (2017) ''The Book of Orchids''. Ivy Press/Chicago University Press, . * M. J. M. Christenhusz & J. W. Byng (2016) The number of known plant species in the world and its annual increase. ''Phytotaxa'' 261(3): 201–217. * S. Zona & M. J. M. Christenhusz (2015) Litter-trapping plants: Filter-feeders of the plant kingdom. ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 179(4): 554–586. * M. J. M. Christenhusz, S. Brockington, A. Christin, & R. Sage (2014) On the disintegration of Molluginaceae: a new genus and family (''Kewa'', Kewaceae) segregated from ''Hypertelis'', and placement of ''Macarthuria'' in Macarthuriaceae. ''Phytotaxa'' 181(4): 238–242. * M. J. M. Christenhusz & M. W. Chase (2014) Trends and concepts in fern classification. ''Annals of Botany'' 113(4): 571–594.

References

External links

Information from the University of HelsinkiMaarten Christenhusz
on

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by '' Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education ...

for botanical consultancy services.

for personal blog 1976 births Living people 21st-century Dutch botanists Utrecht University alumni University of Turku alumni People from Enschede Pteridologists Dutch pteridologists {{Netherlands-botanist-stub