Carl Johan Fredrik Skottsberg (1 December 1880 – 14 June 1963) was a Swedish

botanist 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 wo ...

and explorer of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Life

Skottsberg was born in Karlshamn on 1 December 1880 the son of Carl Adolf Skottsberg a schoolmaster and his wife, Maria Louisa Pfeiffer. He was educated locally then studied Sciences at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

from 1898, specialising in Botany, and receiving his doctorate (PhD) there in 1907. From 1901 to 1903 Skottsberg served as official botanist to the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901 to 1903 on the ship ''

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

''. On his return to Sweden, Skottsberg published (1905) the first comprehensive

phytogeographic Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

study of the flora of southern Patagonia and

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. Later he led the Swedish Magellanic Expedition to Patagonia, 1907 to 1909. Carl Skottsberg is believed to have been the last to have seen the

Santalum fernandezianum ''Santalum fernandezianum'', also known as the Chile sandalwood, was a species of plant in the Santalaceae family. It was endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile. Last seen in 1908 by Carl Skottsberg, the species was cut to ...

tree alive when he visited the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

in 1908. He was conservator at the Uppsala University Botanical Museum 1909 to 1914, but led the work on the new Botanical Garden in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

from 1915, and was appointed professor and director of the garden there,

Göteborg Botanical Garden The Gothenburg Botanical Garden ( sv, Göteborgs botaniska trädgård) is located in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is one of the larger botanical gardens in Europe. History The Gothenburg Botanical Garden is situated in a formerly completely rural ar ...

, in 1919. In 1909, he married Inga Margareta Reuter. Skottsberg was a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

and several other Swedish learned societies, and was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1950. That same year he presided the 7th International Botanical Congress. He was awarded the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

's Darwin-Wallace Medal in 1958 and the

Linnean Medal The Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1888, and is awarded annually to alternately a botanist or a zoologist or (as has been common since 1958) to one of each in the same year. The medal was of gold until 1976, and ...

in 1959. He is buried at Östra kyrkogården in

Publications

*''The Wilds of Patagonia'' (1919) *''Remarks on the Hawaiian Flora'' (1939) *''Observations on Hawaiian Violets'' (1940) *''Communities of Marine algae'' (1941) *''Botanical Survey of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

'' *''The Natural History of Juan Fernandez and

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

'' *''Meddelanden'' (1963)

Honours

Several taxa have been named in his honour; * ''

Skottsbergia ''Skottsbergia'' is a monotypic genus,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 ...

Ditrichaceae Ditrichaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in the order Dicranales. Genera The family Ditrichaceae contains over twenty genera: *'' Astomiopsis'' *'' Bryomanginia'' *'' Ceratodon'' *'' Cheilothela'' *'' Cladastomum ...

family), * ''

Skottsbergiella ''Skottsbergiella'' is a genus of fungi in the family Gnomoniaceae. This is a monotypic genus, containing the single species ''Skottsbergiella diaporthoides'', first described by Franz Petrak in 1927. The genus and species were circumscription (t ...

'' (genus of

Fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

Gnomoniaceae Gnomoniaceae is a family of fungi in the order Diaporthales. The family was circumscribed by German botanist Heinrich Georg Winter in 1886. Genera As accepted by GBIF: * '' Alnecium'' (2) * '' Ambarignomonia'' (2) * '' Anisogramma'' (6) * ...

family), * ''Skottsbergiella'' (genus of

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

) a synonym of ''

Cuminia ''Cuminia'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1835. It contains only one known species, ''Cuminia eriantha''. It is endemic to Robinson Crusoe Island, one of the Juan Fernández Islands in the southeast P ...

'' , * ''Skottsbergiliana'' (a genus of Cucurbitaceae), now a synonym of ''

Sicyos ''Sicyos'' is a flowering plant genus of the family Cucurbitaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as burr cucumbers. Selected species Out of 130 species which have been attributed to the genus, just 37 are currently accepted by botan ...

'', * ''Skottsbergiella'' (genus of Brassicaceae), now a synonym of ''

Xerodraba ''Xerodraba'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. Its native range is Southern Chile to Southern Argentina. Species: * ''Xerodraba colobanthoides'' Skottsb. * ''Xerodraba glebaria'' (Speg.) Skottsb. * ''Xerodra ...

'' , * ''Skottsbergianthus'' (genus of Brassicaceae), now a synonym of ''Xerodraba'',

Botanical Reference

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skottsberg, Carl Swedish botanists Swedish explorers Botanists active in Antarctica Explorers of Antarctica Uppsala University alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1880 births 1963 deaths People from Karlshamn Explorers of Chile Fellows of the Royal Society Phytogeographers