Dieter Carl Wasshausen (born 15 April 1938 in Jena, Germany) is an American botanist specialized in

Spermatophyte A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...

s. In 1962 he started working at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

as a technician. In 1976 he became chairman of the Botany Department, a post he held until 1982 He studied at the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

receiving a PhD in 1972. Wasshausen has described approximately 247 new species in various families, and five new species have been named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasshausen, Dieter Carl 1938 births Living people 21st-century American botanists George Washington University alumni