Hermann August Theodor Harms (16 July 1870 – 27 November 1942) was a German taxonomist and

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 ...

. Harms was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. He worked as a botanist at the Botanical Museum in Berlin. He was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He died in Berlin, aged 52. He was longtime editor of Adolf Engler's "'' Das Pflanzenreich''", and was the author of several chapters on various plant families in Engler and Prantl's "''

Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien ''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (1887–1915) by Adolf Engler (1844–1930) and Karl Anton Prantl is a complete revision of plant families down to generic level and often even further. As such it forms part of the Engler system of plant tax ...

''", including the chapters on

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

(1930) and

Nepenthaceae ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mos ...

(1936). In the latter he revised the

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

genus ''

Nepenthes ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mos ...

'', dividing it into three subgenera: ''Anurosperma'', ''Eunepenthes'' and ''Mesonepenthes'' (see Taxonomy of ''Nepenthes''). Furthermore, he was interested in the genus ''

Passiflora ''Passiflora'', known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae. They are mostly tendril-bearing vines, with some being shrubs or trees. They ...

''. The plant genera ''

Harmsia ''Harmsia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae. It is native to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The genus name of ''Harmsia'' is in honour of Hermann Harms (1870–1942), a German taxonomist and botanist. It was first ...

'' (Schum.), '' Harmsiella'' ( Briq.), ''

Harmsiodoxa ''Harmsiodoxa'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It is native to Australia. The genus name of ''Harmsiodoxa'' is in honour of Hermann Harms Hermann August Theodor Harms (16 July 1870 – 27 November 1942 ...

'' (in the Brassicaceae family) and ''

Harmsiopanax ''Harmsiopanax'' is a genus of woody, monocarpic flowering plants of a palmlike habit belonging to the family Araliaceae. It comprises 3 species, of which the most important is the gigantic ''Harmsiopanax ingens''. The genus name of ''Harmsiopan ...

'' (in the ''

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguisha ...

'' family) commemorate his name.

Publications

* ''Genera siphonogamarum ad systematic Englerianum conscripta''.

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

: G. Engelmann, 1900–1907, with

Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre (14 July 1850 – 6 April 1928) was an Austrian taxonomist, entomologist and botanist. Dalla Torre was born in Kitzbühel, Tyrol. He studied natural sciences at the University of Innsbruck. He then worked in the ...

(1850-1928). * ''Cucurbitaceae Cucurbiteae-Cucumerinae''. Leipzig: Engelmann, 1924 (reprinted Wiley 1966), with

Alfred Cogniaux Célestin Alfred Cogniaux (7 April 1841 – 15 April 1916) was a Belgian botanist. Amongst other plants, the genus '' Neocogniauxia'' of orchids is named after him. In 1916 his enormous private herbarium was acquired by the National Botanic ...

(1841-1916).

References

* This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

, namely: Robert Zander, Fritz Encke, Günther Buchheim, Siegmund Seybold (eds) Handbook of Plant Names . 13th Edition. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1984, .

External links

*
Listing at IPNI

WorldCat Titles
(list of publications) Botanists with author abbreviations 1870 births 1942 deaths 20th-century German botanists Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Scientists from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg German taxonomists Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina {{Germany-botanist-stub