Ignaz Friedrich Tausch (29 January 1793, in
Theusing – 8 September 1848) was a
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n
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 ...
.
He studied
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and
natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
at the
University of Prague, becoming an associate professor of economic and technical
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 ...
in 1815. He discovered at least eleven species of plants, including ''Rhizobotrya alpina'' and ''Saxifraga hostii''. During his career he worked at the botanical garden of Emanuel Joseph Malabaila von Canal (1745-1826).
[BHL](_blank)
Taxonomic literature : a selective guide to botanical publications
He was the
taxonomic authority
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...
of many botanical species. Plants bearing the specific epithet of ''tauschii'' are named in his honor, e.g. ''
Triticum tauschii''. In 1825,
Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal
Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal (27 November 1794, Xanten – 12 October 1866, Halle) was a German botanist.
He studied in Berlin, in 1819 becoming curator of the Royal Herbarium. He was a professor of botany and director of the Bo ...
named the genus ''
Tauschia
''Tauschia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot family which are known as umbrellaworts. These are perennial plants with taproots or tubers and foliage generally resembling that of relatives parsley and carrot
The carrot ('' D ...
'', or umbrellaworts (family
Apiaceae
Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...
) after him.
Biography
Tausch was born on January 29, 1793 in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
to a master brewer, Josef Tausch, and Elizabeth Tausch. In his youth, Tausch visited a Piaristengymnasium, a higher educational institution, in the town of
Schlackenwerth, sparking his curiosity in botany. From 1809 to 1812, he attended the Charles University in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, where he studied philosophy, medicine, and botany. From 1815 to 1826, he served as a professor of botany at the botanical garden of Emmanuel Canal at Prague. From 1821 to his death, he was a member of the Academy in Turin, and in 1843, became president of the Bohemian Horticultural Society. He died at Prague on September 8, 1848, at the age of 55.
Publications
*
Hortus canalius seu plantarum rariorum, (tomas 1: decays 1 of 2) 1823.
* ''Bemerkungen über einige Arten der Gattung Paeonia'', in Flora,
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
, 11, (6), 81–89.
Carsten Burkhardt's Web Project Paeonia
The Peony Library
References
German Bohemian people
19th-century Austrian botanists
People from Toužim
1793 births
1848 deaths
Charles University alumni
{{botanist-stub