Georg Kükenthal (30 March 1864 in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle. History Perhaps the firs ...

– 20 October 1955 in

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

) was a German

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

and botanist who specialized in the field of

caricology ''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...

. He was the brother of zoologist

Willy Kükenthal Willy Georg Kükenthal (August 4, 1861, Weißenfels – August 20, 1922, Berlin) was a German zoologist. He was the older brother of botanist and theologian Georg Kükenthal (1864–1955). Kükenthal specialized in the Octocorallia and on marin ...

(1861–1922). From 1882 to 1885 he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the universities of

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thre ...

and

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

. He worked as a pastor in

Grub am Forst Grub am Forst is a municipality in the district of Coburg in Bavaria in Germany. It has ca 3,100 residents. The nearest large town is Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Lo ...

, and later in

. In 1913 he received an honorary degree from the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. Kükenthal was a leading authority on

sedge 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'' ...

s. In his 1909 monograph, he divided the genus ''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...

'' into four

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betwee ...

: ''Primocarex'', ''Vignea'', ''Indocarex'' and ''Eucarex''. ''Carex'' is the largest monophyletic (natural) genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s; Kükenthal's monograph remains the only comprehensive, worldwide treatment.

Selected publications

* ''Cyperaceae-Caricoideae'', etc., in

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

's ''

Das Pflanzenreich Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

'' (1909) – On

Cyperaceae 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'' ...

-Caricoideae. * ''Beiträge zur Flora von Coburg und Umgebung'' (1930) – Contributions to the flora of Coburg and surroundings. * ''Cyperaceae-Scirpoideae-Cypereae'', etc., in ''Das Pflanzenreich'' (1936) – On Cyperaceae-Scirpoideae-Cypereae.

References

Collectors of lichens and lichenicolous fungi of Germany
(biographical information)

by Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi· 5 May 2003 * Global Carex Group (2015
''Making Carex monophyletic (Cyperaceae, tribe Cariceae): a new broader circumscription.''
Bot J Linn Soc, 179: 1–42. doi:10.1111/boj.12298 19th-century German botanists 1864 births 1955 deaths University of Tübingen alumni People from Weißenfels University of Halle alumni 20th-century German botanists {{Germany-botanist-stub

Selected publications

See also

References