P. Hans B. Runemark (7 January 1927 – 11 December 2014) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 ...

and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, (U.S.A.), he graduated in 1956 at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Rhizocarpon ''Rhizocarpon'' is a genus of crustose, saxicolous (or sometimes lichenicolous), lichens in the family Rhizocarpaceae. The genus is common in arctic-alpine environments, but also occurs throughout temperate, subtropical, and even tropical region ...

, in the late 1940s. The work undertaken for his PhD was subsequently published as a monograph in the journal

Botaniska Notiser ''Botaniska Notiser'' was a Swedish scientific periodical concerning botany, issued in Lund, by Societate botanica Lundensi or unds Botaniska Förening It was published from 1839 to 1980, when it fused with ''Botanisk Tidsskrift'', '' Friesia'' a ...

. Runemark used the newly discovered technique of

paper chromatography Paper chromatography is an analytical method used to separate coloured chemicals or substances. It is now primarily used as a teaching tool, having been replaced in the laboratory by other chromatography methods such as thin-layer chromatography ...

as a tool in lichen taxonomy, and his monograph included species descriptions with detailed distribution maps for the Nordic and European regions. His work is still regarded as a useful contribution to the understanding of the genus, and can be considered to be one of the first modern monographs. Having gained his PhD, Runemark left lichenology and studied the vascular flora of the Aegean Islands in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, becoming interested in island endemics. He used the plants in the archipelago as a laboratory to study evolutionary processes in small plant populations. Runemark was appointed

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of systematic

botany 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 ...

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

'' Omphalodes runemarkii'' Strid & Kit Tan, '' Iberis runemarkii'' Greuter & Burdet, '' Arenaria runemarkii'' Phitos, '' Cerastium runemarkii'' Möschl & Rech. f., '' Silene sedoides'' subsp. '' runemarkii'' Oxelman, '' Asperula lilaciflora'' subsp. '' runemarkii'' Ehrend. & Schönb.-Tem., '' Allium runemarkii'' Trigas & Tzanoud., '' Prunus runemarkii'' Eisenman, '' Thinopyrum runemarkii'' Á.Löve, '' Astragalus runemarkii'' Maassoumi & Podlech and '' Euphorbia sultan-hassei'' Strid, B.Bentzer, Bothmer, Engstrand & M.A.Gust., are named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Runemark, Hans Swedish lichenologists Swedish botanists 1927 births 2014 deaths Lund University alumni Academic staff of Lund University