Johannes Conrad Schauer (16 February 1813 – 24 October 1848) was a botanist interested in
Spermatophytes
A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...
. He was born in
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
and attended the
gymnasium of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
from 1825 to 1837. For the next three years he worked at the Hofgarten of
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 is ...
. Schauer then gained a position as assistant at the botanical garden at
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-Ruhr r ...
where he worked until 1832 when he was placed in charge of the botanic garden in Breslau, (now
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
) with
C.G. Nees. He gained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
1835 and was appointed professor of botany at the
University of Greifswald
The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
from 1843 until his death in 1848.
Although he never visited
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, many Australian botanists and plant collectors sent him plant specimens, especially
eucalypt
Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia:
''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
s and other members of the myrtle
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
,
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...
. For example, when
Allan Cunningham died in 1839, Schauer received many botanical specimens from the executor of Cunningham's estate, , including ''Eucalyptus clavigera'' (now ''
Corymbia clavigera
''Corymbia clavigera'', commonly known as apple gum or cabbage gum, is a species of tree that is endemic to a small area in the north-west Kimberley region of Western Australia. It has smooth, pale grey and white bark, lance-shaped or elliptica ...
''
(A.Cunn. & Schauer) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson).
Many of Schauer's descriptions were published in
Walpers' ''Repertorium Botanices Systematicae''
and ''Dissertatio phytographica de Regelia, Beaufortia et Calothamno : generibus plantarum Myrtacearum''.
The genus ''
Schaueria
''Schaueria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. They are endemic to Brazil, from Bahia to Rio Grande do Sul. They are characterized by small elongated white or yellow flowers and narrow to thread-like green or yellow bract ...
'' (family
Acanthaceae
Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in te ...
) was named in his honour by
Nees
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He d ...
(1838).
''
Calothamnus schaueri
''Calothamnus schaueri'' is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, spreading, sometimes prostrate shrub, growing to a height of about with cylindrical leaves long. It has ...
'' and ''
Beaufortia schaueri
''Beaufortia schaueri'', commonly known as pink bottlebrush or pink beaufortia, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a small, rounded shrub with small, crowd ...
'' were also named in his honour.
Selected publications
* "Acanthaceae" (with
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He de ...
); part of the series
Flora Brasiliensis
''Flora Brasiliensis'' is a book published between 1840 and 1906 by the editors Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, August Wilhelm Eichler, Ignatz Urban and many others. It contains taxonomic treatments of 22,767 species, mostly Brazilian angiosp ...
, volume IX, fascicle VII, X.
* "Monographia Myrtacearum xerocarpicarum. Sectio I., Chamaelauciearum : hucusque cognitarum genera et species illustrans", 1840.
* "Chamaelaucieae : commentatio botanica", 1841.
* "Genera myrtacearum nova vel denuo recognita", 1843.
* "Dissertatio phytographica de Regelia, Beaufortia et calothamno, generibus plantarum myrtacearum", 1845.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schauer, Johannes Conrad
1813 births
1848 deaths
University of Greifswald faculty
19th-century German botanists