Heinrich Gustav Flörke (24 December 1764, in Altenkalden in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

– 11 June 1835) was a German

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 lichenologist. He initially 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 the ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

Bützow Bützow is a town in the district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany, centered on Bützower See. History The town was first mentioned in 1171. From 1815 to 1918 Bützow was part of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwe ...

, later studying medicine at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. In 1816 he succeeded

Ludolph Christian Treviranus Ludolph Christian Treviranus (18 September 1779 in Bremen – 6 May 1864 in Bonn) was a German botanist born in Bremen. He was a younger brother to naturalist Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus (1776–1837). In 1801 he earned his doctorate at th ...

(1779–1864) as professor of natural history at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life. He specialized in the field of

lichenology Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga (or a cyanobacterium) with a filamentous fungus. Study of lichens draws knowledge from several ...

, being known for his investigations of the genus ''

Cladonia ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets ...

''. During his career, he was highly critical of Swedish botanist

Erik Acharius Erik Acharius (10 October 1757 – 14 August 1819) was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology." Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus. Life Acharius was born in ...

's work; e.g. ''Kritische Anmerkungen zu den Becherflechten in der Lichenographia universalis des Herrn Doctors und Ritters Erik Acharius'' (1810) - (Critical comments on the

cup lichen A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

in ''Lichenographia universalis'' of Erik Acharius). For a number of years Flörke was an editor of "

Oekonomische Encyklopädie The ''Oekonomische Encyklopädie'' was a German language encyclopedia started by Johann Georg Krünitz. It appeared in 242 volumes between 1773 and 1858. Each volume has about 600-800 pages, giving a total of about 170,000 pages. It was orig ...

", an

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

initiated by

Johann Georg Krünitz Johann Georg Krünitz (20 March 1728 – 20 December 1796) was a German encyclopedist who started the 242-volume Oekonomische Encyklopädie and during his lifetime managed to complete its first 72 volumes. Life Krünitz was born in Berlin as th ...

(1728–1796). His name is associated with the

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

genus ''

Floerkea ''Floerkea'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the meadowfoam family containing the sole species ''Floerkea proserpinacoides'', which is known by the common names false mermaid, false mermaidweed, and floerkea. This tiny wildflower is native to ...

'', and also the lichen species ''Cladonia floerkeana''.

Selected writings

* ''Beschreibung der deutschen staubflechten'', 1807 * ''Deutsche Lichenen gesammelt und mit Ammerkungen'', 1815 * ''De Cladoniis : difficillimo lichenum genere, commentatio nova'', 1828.Biodiversity Heritage Library
(publications)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florke, Heinrich Gustav 1764 births 1835 deaths Academic staff of the University of Rostock University of Jena alumni 19th-century German botanists German lichenologists 18th-century German botanists

Selected writings

See also

References