Johan Johnsen Havaas (Havås) (19 October 1864–27 April 1956) was a farmer 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 ...

from

Granvin Granvin is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it merged with Voss Municipality. The municipality was located in the traditional district of Hardanger. ...

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

Early life and career

Johan Havaas grew up on the farm Havås in

and took an early interest in natural history and

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 ...

. He was particularly interested in the

cryptogam A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...

flora. Havaas had only social studies and was largely self-taught, and also learned foreign languages (including Latin, English, German, French, Portuguese and Spanish) on his own, so he could both exchange letters with scientists abroad and publish his dissertations. With support from the

Bergen Museum The University Museum of Bergen ( no, Universitetsmuseet i Bergen) is a university museum in Bergen, Norway. The museum features material related to anthropology, archaeology, botany, geology, zoology, art, and cultural history. History The Univ ...

, among others, he traveled all over the country and collected and recorded large quantities of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es,

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.parasitic fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

. His interest was too low, and he himself described about 6 new species. For example, he found the first specimen of the lichen coastal coral lichen ('' Bunodophoron melanocarpum'') in Norway, near

Mosterhamn Mosterhamn or simply Moster is a village in Bømlo municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the small island of Moster in the southeastern part of the municipality of Bømlo. The village lies along the Bømlafjorden. Th ...

Sunnhordaland Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of Norway. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardang ...

in 1912. In 1911 he registered a find of bog herring (''

Saxifraga hypnoides ''Saxifraga hypnoides'', called mossy saxifrage, cut-leaved saxifrage, Dovedale moss, Eve's cushion, Indian moss, lady's cushion, and queen's cushion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. It is native to northwestern Europ ...

'') in

Stadlandet Stad or Stadlandet is a peninsula in Stad Municipality in the northwestern part of the Nordfjord district in Vestland county in Norway. The peninsula is considered the dividing point between the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea to th ...

, a moss that was first found in Norway in the early 1800s. Two

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.species epithet named after him. One is '' Flavoplaca havaasii'', the other is '' Umbilicaria havaasii''. His work aroused international interest, while he has been less well known in Norway. The Granvin Bygdatun Museum has a collection after Johan Havaas, otherwise there are collections after him at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

and at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the USA. In 1934 he was honored with the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold. He continued to run his father's farm in Granvin even in his old age. He probably had the last kvanngarden in Granvin.

Selected publications

*Floristiske undersøgelser i Søndre Bergenhus Amt (1897) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1897) *Nye findsteder for nogle sjeldnere lichener (1899) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1899) *Om vegetationen paa Hardangervidden (1902) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1902) *Beiträge zur Kenntnis der west-norwegischen Flechtflora 1 (1909) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1909) *Lichenvegetationen ved Mosterhavn (1916) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1917—1918) *Om vegetasjonen på toppen av Hårteigen (1927) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1927) *Om lichenvegetasjonen på Stadtlandet (1935) (I Bergens museums aarbok 1935) *Notes to the lichen flora of the mountains Steinsæterhorgi and Smøreggfjellet in Granvin, Hordaland fylke (1954) (Årbok for *Universitetet i Bergen 1954) *Granvins løvmosflora (1961) (Årbok for Universitetet i Bergen 1961) Johan Havaas has also published two valuable dissertations: *Lichenes exsiccati Norvegiae og *Lichenes Norvegiae occidentalis exsiccati

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havaas, Johan 1864 births 1956 deaths 19th-century Norwegian botanists Norwegian farmers People from Granvin Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold 20th-century Norwegian botanists