Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth (28 December 1855
Lübben,
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 ...
– 15 May 1931
Caledon,
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...
) was a German-born
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n botanist, pharmacist and analytical chemist, best known for his ''Flora of South Africa'' which appeared in six superbly illustrated volumes between 1913 and 1932. This botanist is denoted by the
author abbreviation Marloth when
citing a
botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...
.
Biography
Early life
Marloth studied pharmacy in Lübben from 1873-1876. after which he worked at various pharmacies in Germany and Switzerland, then formally qualified as a pharmacist at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. In 1883 he was awarded a doctorate for his thesis "''The protective mechanisms employed by seeds against harmful agents''".
He arrived in Cape Town on 30 December 1883 after being urged to do so by a schoolfriend who had already settled there. During his first year there he worked as a pharmacist for the firm of Wentzel and Schleswig. He was enthralled by Cape Town and
Table Mountain
Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...
and started immediately on a plant collection, soon going further afield to places like Klein Winterhoek,
Du Toitskloof
The Du Toitskloof Mountains (Dutoitsberge) are a range in the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The highest point is Du Toits Peak (Dutoitspiek) () which is the highest seaward facing peak in the Cape Fold Belt ran ...
, Bainskloof and Sneeukop. During this time he started his own business in Cape Town. Acting as a locum in
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
, he made collecting trips from 1885-1886 to the surrounding areas such as
Kuruman
Kuruman is a small town with just over 53,000 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is known for its scenic beauty and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature that brings water from deep underground. The abundance of water ...
in the Northern Cape and to
South West Africa
South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...
where he visited Aus,
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.
The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...
Bay,
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...
,
Usakos
, nickname =
, settlement_type = Town
, motto = Excelsior
, image_skyline = Usakos Luftaufnahme (2018).jpg
, imagesize = 300
, image_caption = Aerial photograph of Usakos (2018) ...
, Ubib,
Karibib
, nickname =
, settlement_type = Town
, motto =
, image_skyline =Karibib aerial view.jpg
, imagesize =300
, image_caption =Karibib aerial view 2017
, image_flag =
, ...
,
Otjimbingwe
Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
History
The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda co ...
and
Okahandja
Okahandja is a city of 24,100 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the ''Garden Town of Namibia''. It is located 70 km north of Windhoek on the ...
. Many of his specimens were written up under "Plantae Marlothiana" by
Engler and others in Berlin.
In 1888 he accepted a post in the Department of Chemistry at Victoria College (which later became
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
); shortly after this in 1889 he became Professor and held this position till 1892. Thereafter he lectured at Elsenburg Agricultural School and at the same time acted as consultant and analytical chemist in Cape Town.
Later life
In 1891 he married Marian van Wyk of
Clanwilliam.
The day after his arrival in Cape Town, he had climbed to the top of
Table Mountain
Table Mountain ( naq, Huriǂoaxa, lit= sea-emerging; af, Tafelberg) is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the ...
. Spending much time botanising in the mountains, he came into contact with the mountaineering fraternity and played a role in the founding of the
Mountain Club of South Africa
The Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) is the largest and oldest mountaineering club in South Africa. It facilitates and engages in mountaineering, climbing of all types, bouldering, hiking, international expeditions, mountain search and resc ...
in 1891, acting as chairman from 1901-1906 and receiving their gold badge in 1906. He spent time on the Groot Winterhoek Peak near
Tulbagh
Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three sides ...
, Michells Pass and collected at
,
Knysna
Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47. ...
, Matroosberg and Jonkershoek between 1887 and 1896. During this period he discovered many new species and a new genus in ''Gesneriaceae'' which he named ''
Charadrophila
''Charadrophila'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Stilbaceae described as a genus in 1899. There is only one known species, ''Charadrophila capensis'', native to the Cape Province region of South Africa
South Africa, official ...
'' Marl.
In 1898 he met
Andreas Schimper
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper (12 May 1856 – 9 September 1901) was a German botany, botanist and phytogeography, phytogeographer who made major contributions in the fields of histology, ecology and plant geography. He travelled to South Eas ...
, renowned botanist and
phytogeographer, who had arrived aboard the "Valdivia". Together they made collecting trips to the
Montagu and
Swartberg
The Swartberg mountains (''black mountain'' in Afrikaans) are a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is composed of two main mountain chains running roughly east–west along the northern edge of the semi-arid Little Kar ...
passes, and then further to
Knysna
Knysna () is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It lies at 34° 2' 6.3168'' S and 23° 2' 47. ...
. Schimper died in 1901 before his report was written, so that Marloth was asked to write an account on the phytogeography of the Cape. In those times "the Cape" was interpreted to cover a large part of
southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
. In order to write the report, Marloth felt it necessary to make extended trips to the
Cederberg
The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia wallichii''), which is a tree end ...
, Gifberg,
Koue Bokkeveld
The Koue Bokkeveld, meaning "Cold Buck Shrubland" in Afrikaans, is a mountain range in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Geologically the range is composed of Cedarberg Sandstone of the Cape System.
Location and extent
It is located above ...
,
Swartruggens
Swartruggens is a small farming town in North West Province, South Africa that was established in 1875.
Location
The town is located by the Elands River, 69 km from the town of Zeerust, 56 km west of the city of Rustenburg and 34  ...
and on to
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
.
On a visit to South Africa in 1905,
Lady Phillips
Dorothea Sarah Florence Alexandra, Lady Phillips (née Ortlepp; 14 June 1863 – 23 August 1940) was a South African art patroness and promoter of indigenous culture. She was married to Sir Lionel Phillips, 1st Baronet, a mining magnate and ...
commissioned Rudolf Marloth to undertake his ''Flora of South Africa'', a mammoth work published in 6 volumes between 1913 and 1932. In 1917
''Dictionary of the Common Names of Plants''was published - this was a supplement to the ''Flora of South Africa''. Other publications by Marloth were ''Cape Flowers at home'' (Darter, Cape Town, 1922), ''The Chemistry of South African Plants and Plant Products'' (Cape Chemical Society, Cape Town, 1913), ''Das Kapland:insonderheit das Reich der Kapflora, das Waldgebiet und die Karroo, pflanzengeographisch dargestellt'' (Gustav Fischer, Jena, 1908) and ''Stone-shaped Plants'' (Speciality Press, Cape Town, 1929)
2 genera of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s have been named in his honour, in 1912 ''Marlothiella'' from Namibia, belonging to the family
Apiaceae
Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...
, then in 1928 ''
Marlothistella
''Marlothistella'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae.
It is native to the Cape Provinces within South African.
The genus name of ''Marlothistella'' is in honour of Rudolf Marloth
Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth ...
'' from South Africa, belonging to the family
Aizoaceae
The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...
.
and also species ''
Aloe marlothii
''Aloe marlothii'' (also known as the mountain aloe or the flat-flowered aloe) is a large, single-stemmed Southern African aloe of rocky places and open flat country, occasionally growing up to 6 m tall.
Description
Named after Rudolf Marloth ...
'' was named in Marloth's honour.
An important nature reserve and holiday township in
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
,
Marloth Park
Marloth Park is a holiday town situated in northeastern South Africa in the Mpumalanga province (formerly Eastern Transvaal).
Geography
On the bank of the Crocodile River between Malelane and Komatipoort on the N4 national highway, Marloth Par ...
, is also named after this famous botanist, besides the
Marloth Nature Reserve in the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Volume 1 of 'Flora of South Africa' downloadMarloth, Professor Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf. Biographical Database of Southern African ScienceBotanical Exploration Southern Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marloth, Rudolf
1855 births
1931 deaths
German emigrants to South Africa
South African mountain climbers
People from Lübben (Spreewald)
Botanists with author abbreviations
20th-century South African botanists
19th-century South African botanists
German pharmacists
Presidents of the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science