Illa Martin (born Sybilla Kesselburg; 25 February 1900 – 6 August 1988) was a German dendrologist, botanist, conservationist and dentist.

Life

Illa Martin was the daughter of a brewery owner in Viersen. She studied dentistry in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

and

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

and in 1935 married the dentist Ernst J. Martin, with whom she shared a practice in

Kaldenkirchen Kaldenkirchen ( li, Kaldekerke) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, situated close to the Dutch border at Venlo. It is part of the municipality of Nettetal. History The earliest reference to “Caldenkirken” appears in a document ...

. She left home already having botanical knowledge and interests. Both she and her husband started to pursue their passion for dendrology during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. In 1947, her husband initiated the

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debat ...

of the Kaldenkirchener forest boundary. Sequoiafarm Eingangsbereich

In 1951, the couple founded the sequoia farm '' Sequoiafarm Kaldenkirchen'' using ''

Sequoiadendron giganteum ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus '' Sequoiad ...

'' seeds sent from the USA. In 1953, with support from the German Research Foundation 1500 two years copies of the Giant Sequoia tree next to coastal redwoods maintained ''

Sequoia sempervirens ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

'' and other species. A research objective was to examine the possibilities for the introduction of these trees in the German forestry. Illa Martin tried to make the forest floor a correspondingly diverse area of flora, containing for example, the American wild ginger ''

Asarum caudatum ''Asarum caudatum'' (British Columbia wild ginger, western wild ginger, or long-tailed wild ginger) is a plant native to rich moist forests of western North America. It has heart-shaped leaves and a three-lobed purplish flower. Description Gr ...

''. Today, the Sequoia Farm is a famous arboretum with over 600 tree species and contains the 1953 scale ''Sequoia sempervirens'' grove next to the Sequoia sempervirens deposits in national forest timber castle one of the very few larger coastal redwood holdings north of the Alps. After her husband's death in 1967, Illa Martin saw that economic continuation of the Sequoia Farm was impossible and so sold the site in late 1969 with buildings at the College of Education Rhineland (now the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

). Now the site is owned by the Nettetal city works. She devoted herself entirely to dendrologic research, wrote three basic tree monographs and reported in many areas of nature conservation. She was a member of the

German Dendrological Society German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, led courses on the Sequoia grove farm, and for many years was a permanent member of the council of the

International Dendrology Society International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(London). As a botanist of Lower Rhine flora, Illa Martin discovered Sleeping moss (''Hypnum imponens'') which occurs only in the shifting sand dunes of the German-Dutch border area in the Lower Rhine Gold in the moorlands, which were in 1986 declared a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. A discovered form of native wild strawberry with white fruit is listed as ''Fragaria vesca'' 'Illa Martin'. In 1983 the city Nettetal named a walking trail in the Kaldenkirchen forest after the couple, "Dr. Martin Weg". The couple had two sons and a daughter, including the author and songwriter

Erik Martin Erik Martin (12 January 1936 in Neuss – 25 April 2017) was a German writer, songwriter and composer of songs. He was the founder and editor of the literature and art magazine ''Muschelhaufen''. Life and work Erik Martin was the first-born son ...

and the legal expert Helge Breloer.

Writings

In addition to numerous journal articles Illa Martin published three extensive

monographs A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograp ...

: * ''Propagation and cultivation of Nothofagus in Germany.'' In: Volume 70 pp. 147–166. Ulmer. Stuttgart 1978, * ''The reintroduction of the sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the German forestry.'' In: Volume 75 pp. 57–75. Ulmer. Stuttgart 1984, * ''The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and its cultivation in Germany.'' In: Volume 77 pp. 57–104. Ulmer. Stuttgart 1987,

Awards

*1980 Albert Steeger badge *1981 Federal Cross of MeritHorst Bartels: Ehrungen. Dr. Illa Martin. In: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Dendrologischen Gesellschaft. Band Nr. 75, 1984 *1981 Jubilee Medal (Horst Koehler Memorial Prize) of the German Horticultural Society

Literature

*Horst Bartels: ''Dr. Illa Martin.'' In: ''Mitteilungen der Dendrologischen Gesellschaft''. Vol 72, Ulm, Stuttgart 1981, *Arthur Lange: ''Wissenschaft als Steckenpferd. Laienforscher – ihre Leistungen und ihre Wissenschaft''. Holsten. Hamburg 1967 *Herbert Hubatsch: ''Von der Sequoiafarm zur Biologischen Station''. In: ''Heimatbuch des Kreises Kempen-Krefeld''. Kempen-Krefeld.'' Kempen 1973 *Hans Huth: ''Sequoias in Germany.'' In: ''Journal of Forest History,'' Volume 3 July, in 1976. Durham (USA), ISSN 0094-5080 *HW Schmitz: ''Dr. Illa Martin verstorben''. In: ''Der Niederrhein''. Krefeld, No. 4 1988 *''"Anwältin der Natur". Dr. Illa Martin starb in Viersen''. In: ''Grenzland-Nachrichten'' 11 August 1988

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Illa 1900 births 1988 deaths People from Viersen Dendrologists 20th-century German botanists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Women in forestry