Karl (or "Carl") Wilhelm Ludwig Pappe (1803, in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
– 14 October 1862) was a German-born
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
botanist who lived and worked in South Africa.
He was the first person to hold the position of government botanist and the first professor of botany at the
South African College
The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS).
History
The process that would lead to the formation of t ...
. His herbarium became the oldest surviving botanical collection in South Africa.
Biography
Pappe studied
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 pr ...
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 ...
at the
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
. He qualified in medicine in 1827 with a thesis on the flowering plants of Leipzig, ''"Enumerationes plantarum phaenogamarum lipsiensium specimen"''.
Medical career
He travelled to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in January 1831 and was registered as a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
surgeon and
accoucheur (a male
obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...
). He joined the South African Medical Society in 1832 and was one of three doctors in charge of the temporary hospital in Cape Town during the
measles epidemic
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious ...
of 1839. From 1855 to 1858 he served as physician to the European Sick and Burial Society and the Widows' Fund.
Botanical career
Pappe started collecting plants around Cape Town from 1831 and this soon became his chief interest. He published ''"Systematische lijst van zoodanige Kaapse planten geslachten, als naar zulke natuurkundigen genoemd zijn die zich in de botanie vedienstelijk gemaakt hebben" (Systematic list of those Cape plants that have been named after naturalists who distinguished themselves in botany)'' in the Nederduitsch Zuid-Afrikaansch Tijdschrift (Dutch-German South African Magazine) in 1833.
In 1847 Pappe submitted a paper, containing 60 plant remedies, to the Cape Town Medical Gazette, entitled ''"A list of South African indigenous plants used as remedies by the colonists"'' which was based on
C.P. Thunberg's ''"Resa uti Europa, Africa, Asia, förrättad åren 1770–1779"''(Travels in Europe, Africa and Asia Made Between the Years 1770–1779).
It was republished in 1847 as a pamphlet, ''"A list of South African indigenous plants, used as remedies by colonists of the Cape of Good Hope"''. This became the basis for Pappe's ''"Florae Capensis medicae prodromus: or, an enumeration of South African indigenous plants, used as remedies by the colonists of the cape of Good Hope"'' in 1850, which was to accompany a collection of Cape medication sent to the
Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.
Pappe collaborated with the colonial secretary,
Rawson W. Rawson in a study of 160 species of South African
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
s which was published as ''"Synopsis filicum Africae Australis; or, an enumeration of the South African ferns"'' in the Cape Monthly Magazine (1957). In August 1858, Rawson appointed Pappe as government botanist, a position that Pappe had proposed.
Pappe became the first professor of botany at the South African College later in 1858. This was an unpaid position, although Pappe did receive some student fees. Pappe started lecturing in April 1959 with introductory botany, the
Linnaean taxonomy
Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:
# The particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his ''Systema Naturae'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus t ...
of plants, and
plant physiology.
Many of the plants Pappe collected on several trips to the
Eastern Cape and
Namaqualand
Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...
were sent to his friend
W.H. Harvey in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
. Pappe expanded his personal herbarium with the purchase of
C.L.P. Zeyher's collection. After his death the herbarium was sold to the government and became the Cape Government Herbarium and in 1956 was transferred to the Compton Herbarium at
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South Af ...
on permanent loan.
In 1854 Pappe published ''"Sylva Capensis; or, a description of South African forest-trees and arborescent shrubs"'' which was a commentary on the 77 specimens sent to the
Universal Exhibition in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in 1855. In 1859 he advised the United States government on
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
plants of economic value while advising the
Madras government of the value of Indian
millet. Pappe also wrote about the dangers of deforestation and suggested conservation measures.
The Cape Town botanical garden
Pappe was in favour of the establishment of a proper botanical garden in Cape Town. To this end, in 1845 he wrote several letters to the editor of
The South African Commercial Advertiser
''The South African Commercial Advertiser'' was South Africa's first independent newspaper and started publication in Cape Town on 7 January 1824. It was banned between 5 May 1824 and 31 August 1825, and between 10 March 1827 and 3 October 1828, b ...
describing the history of the Cape garden established by the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
. When subscriptions to finance the garden were started in May 1848, Pappe subscribed £2 per annum.
Harry Smith, governor of the Cape appointed Pappe to a commission to supervise the development of the botanic garden. In 1949, Pappe assisted in acquiring trees and shrubs from
Baron von Ludwig
Carl Ferdinand Heinrich von Ludwig aka Baron von Ludwig (6 October 1784 Sulz am Neckar – 27 December 1847 Cape Town), the son of a clerk in the ecclesiastical administration, he was a German-born pharmacist, businessman and patron of the natural ...
's estate for the garden, as Pappe had been acquainted with him prior to von Ludwig's death in 1847. Pappe also collected plants from South Africa for the garden and obtained others from overseas. In 1850, he resigned from the commission in protest when
C.L.P. Zeyher, the gardener, was dismissed.
Zoological interests
In 1853, Pappe published ''"Synopsis of the edible fishes at the Cape of Good Hope"'' in which 45 species were described. The work was inspired by
Andrew Smith's ''"Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa (1838–50)"''.
In 1855, he presented many specimens of ''
Coleoptera'' and ''
Hymenoptera'' to the
South African Museum
The Iziko South African Museum is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present site in the Company's Garden since 1897. The museum houses important A ...
.
Eponyms
The genus of small African trees ''
Pappea'' (Family ''
Sapindaceae'') was named after him by
C.F. Ecklon and Zeyher. He was also commemorated in the species of
legume, ''
Lessertia pappeana'' and the fern, ''
Asplenium pappei''.
As a
taxonomist
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 give ...
he described the genus ''Atherstonea Pappe'' (synonym ''
Strychnos
''Strychnos'' is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Loganiaceae (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 100 accepted species of trees and lianas, and more than 200 that are as yet unresolved. The genus is widely di ...
'', family
Loganiaceae
The Loganiaceae are a family of flowering plants classified in order Gentianales. The family includes up to 13 genera, distributed around the world's tropics. There are not any great morphological characteristics to distinguish these taxa from ot ...
).
Selected botanical works
*
*
*
Personal life
Pappe married Maria Bam Mastaer (or Mestaer) in 1839 and they had five children. Pappe collected an extensive personal library and more than 1300 books were auctioned off after his death.
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pappe, Karl Wilhelm Ludwig
1803 births
1862 deaths
19th-century German botanists
German emigrants to South Africa
Physicians from Hamburg
19th-century South African botanists