Otto Luyken (4 November 1884 – 3 February 1953) was director of the "Hesse Tree Nurseries" (Baumschulen Hesse) in Weener,

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 ...

. He bred the

cherry laurel ''Prunus'' subg. ''Padus'' is a subgenus of ''Prunus'', characterised by having racemose inflorescences. ''Padus'' was originally a distinct genus, but genetic and morphological studies have shown that ''Padus'' is polyphyletic. It has been prop ...

(''Prunus laurocerasus'') variety named after him.

Life

Luyken was born in

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

, Germany. His parents were Emil Luyken (1845-1906) and Johanna Hesse (1848-1934). He went to school in Siegen and then began an apprenticeship as gardener in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. After participating in

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 started working at the "Hesse Tree Nurseries" in Weener which were owned by his mother's parents, and later became the director. Under his management the establishment won a high prestige. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was drafted again to military service for a long time and came back sick. He suffered from a dilated lung, and died in Weener. After his death the tree nurseries could not be kept in family's ownership. The "Baumschulen Hesse" were founded 1879 by Hermann A. Hesse (1852-1937). The "Otto Luyken" cherry laurel was selected by the nursery in 1940 and introduced to trade in 1953 (Otto's death year).

Picture gallery

Image:Otto_Luyken_1890.jpg, Otto Luyken with his parents ca. 1890 Image:Otto_Luyken_1907.jpg, Otto Luyken (left) October 1907

External links

Otto Luyken's genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luyken, Otto 1884 births 1953 deaths German gardeners