Walter Carl Otto Busse (1868 – 1933) was a German

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 ...

, whose primary scholarly focus was on German agriculture and the plants, fungi and lichen of Africa.

Life

Busse was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany on 7 December 1868. He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

in 1892. His first posting was in the German Imperial Health Office (Kaiserliche Gesundheitsamt). He then went on to work in the Imperial Biological Institute (Biologische Reichsanstalt) in Dahlem. In 1900 he made a plant collecting expedition to Africa. He then travelled to the

Bogor Botanical Gardens The Bogor Botanical Gardens ( id, Kebun Raya Bogor) is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of central Jakarta. It is currently operated by Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Indonesian: ''Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indo ...

(then called the Botanical Gardens in Buitenzorg) in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

to make a study of

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

species which have medicinal value as a source of

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...

. In 1903 he returned to Africa to make collections in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, before returning to Germany in 1905. Following the founding of the Imperial Colonial Office (german: Reichskolonialamt) he transferred to the Department for Agriculture and Forestry. His work on

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

during this time was notable. In this position he travelled to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. In 1926 he was made

Privy Councilor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

(german: Geheimrat) on agricultural matters for the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

to the

International Institute of Agriculture The International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) was founded in Rome in 1905 by the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III with the intent of creating a clearinghouse for collection of agricultural statistics. It was created primarily due to the efforts ...

in Rome. He retired in 1919.

Work

During his collecting trips to Africa he was charged with assessing local woody plant species for use in commercial purposes. In addition to the many plant specimens he acquired and described, he was also noted for the photographs he took while collecting.

Legacy

He is the authority for at least 31

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

including: Several species are named in his honor including: *'' Acalypha bussei''

Hutch. John Hutchinson, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (7 April 1884 Blindburn, Northumberland – 2 September 1972 London) was an English botanist, taxonomist and author.''A Botanist in Southern Afric ...

*'' Abutilon bussei'' Gürke ex Ulbr. *'' Aloe bussei'' A.Berger *''

Aspilia bussei ''Aspilia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Some authors have merged this genus with '' Wedelia'', but others maintain that more study is required. ''Aspilia'' is native to Africa, Madagascar, and Latin America. Medicin ...

'' O.Hoffm. & Muschl. *'' Brachystegia bussei'' Harms *'' Diospyros bussei'' Gürke *'' Dissotidendron bussei'' (

Gilg Gilg is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Candice Gilg (born 1972), French freestyle skier * Deborah R. Gilg (born 1951), American lawyer *Ernest Friedrich Gilg (1867–1933), German botanist *Karl Gilg (1901–1981), German ches ...

ex Engl.) Ver.-Lib. & G.Kadereit *'' Entandrophragma bussei'' Harms ex Engl. *'' Euphorbia bussei''

Pax Pax or PAX may refer to: Peace * Peace (Latin: ''pax'') ** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace ** Pax, a truce term * Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services * Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly ki ...

*'' Excoecaria bussei'' (

)

*'' Ficus bussei''

Warb. Otto Warburg (20 July 1859 – 10 January 1938) was a German-Jewish botanist. He was also a notable industrial agriculture expert, and president of the Zionist Organization from 1911 to 1921. Biography Otto Warburg was born in Hamburg on 20 ...

Mildbr. Gottfried Wilhelm Johannes Mildbraed (19 December 1879 – 24 December 1954) was a German botanist that specialized in mosses, ferns, and various spermatophytes. He is well known for authoring the most current monograph and taxonomic treatment of ...

& Burret *'' Galium bussei''

K.Schum. Karl Moritz Schumann (17 June 1851 – 22 March 1904) was a German botanist. Schumann was born in Görlitz. He was curator of the Botanisches Museum in Berlin-Dahlem from 1880 until 1894. He also served as the first chairman of the ''Deut ...

& K.Krause *'' Heinsia bussei'' Verdc. *'' Hexalobus bussei''

Diels Diels is the last name of several people: * Rudolf Diels (1900–1957), German politician * Otto Diels (1876–1954), German scientist noted for his work on the Diels–Alder reaction * Ludwig Diels (1874–1945), German botanist * Hermann Diels ...

*''

Indigofera bussei ''Indigofera'' is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropics, tropical and subtropics, subtropical regions of the world. Description Species of ' ...

'' J.B.Gillett *'' Maerua bussei'' (

& Gilg-Ben.) R.Wilczek *'' Millettia bussei'' Harms *'' Oliverella bussei'' (

Sprague Sprague may refer to: Places ;Canada * Sprague, Manitoba, a small town near the Minnesota/Manitoba border ;United States * Sprague, Alabama, Montgomery County, Alabama * Sprague, Connecticut * Sprague, Missouri * Sprague, Nebraska * Sprague ...

) Polhill & Wiens *'' Philenoptera bussei'' ( Harms) Schrire *'' Rhodopentas bussei'' ( K.Krause) Kårehed & B.Bremer *'' Rinorea bussei'' M.Brandt *''

Salacia bussei In ancient Roman mythology, Salacia ( , ) was the female divinity of the sea, worshipped as the goddess of salt water who presided over the depths of the ocean. Neptune was her consort. That Salacia was the consort of Neptune is implied by Va ...

'' Loes. *''

Scilla bussei ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and sea ...

'' Dammer *'' Tetracera bussei''

*'' Vachellia bussei'' ( Harms ex Y.Sjöstedt) Kyal. & Boatwr.

References

19th-century German botanists 1865 births 1933 deaths University of Freiburg alumni 20th-century German botanists {{Botanist-stub