Leopold Loeske (24 October 1865, Hohensalza – 29 March 1935,

Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort. Geogra ...

) was a German watchmaker and amateur bryologist. A skilled watchmaker, he was self-taught as a bryologist, collecting moss specimens in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as ...

during his career. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he spent eight years working as a correspondent for a commercial institution due to financial struggles.JSTOR Global Plants
(biography) He joined the

British Bryological Society The British Bryological Society is an academic society dedicated to bryology, which encourages the study of bryophytes ( mosses, liverworts and hornworts). It publishes the peer-reviewed ''Journal of Bryology''. History The Society developed f ...

in 1934. He died at Bad Harzburg while on a collection excursion in the

Harz Mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

.Moosflora der Schweiz
History of Bryology in Switzerland, source Harvard Index of Botanists, Frahm & Eggers 2001 S. 290-293.
Grimmiology The

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 ...

genera ''Loeskeobryum'' ( M.Fleisch. ex Broth. 1925) and '' Loeskypnum'' (H.K.G.Paul, 1916) are both named in his honor.

Published works

He was the author of 70 published works, including a highly regarded monograph on European

Grimmiaceae Grimmiaceae is a family of mosses in the order Grimmiales. Genera ''The Plant List'' and ''Tropicos'' list the following genera: * '' Aligrimmia'' * '' Bucklandiella'' * '' Codriophorus'' * '' Coscinodon'' * '' Coscinodontella'' * '' Drypt ...

, "''Monographie der europäischen Grimmiaceen''" (1930). Other books by Loeske include: * ''Moosflora des Harzes'', 1903 - Mosses of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

. * ''Studien zur vergleichenden morphologie und phylogonetischen systematik der laubmoose''. 1910 - Studies involving

comparative morphology Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

and

phylogenetic systematics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived chara ...

of mosses. * ''Die Laubmoose Europas''. I, Grimmiaceae, 1913 - Mosses of Europe, Grimmiaceae. * ''Die Laubmoose Europas''. II, Funariaceae, 1914 - Mosses of Europe, Funariaceae.Google Books
Studien zur vergleichenden morphologie und phylogonetischen systematik der laubmoose Loeske was editor of the bryological journal, ''Bryologische Zeitschrift''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loeske, Leopold 1865 births 1935 deaths Bryologists 20th-century German botanists People from Inowrocław People from the Province of Posen 19th-century German botanists

Published works

See also

References