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Werner Walter Hugo Paul Rothmaler (born 20 August 1908 in
Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...
, died 13 April 1962 in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
) 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 ...
and from 1953 until 1962 head of the Institute for Agricultural Biology of the
University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
of
Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rosto ...
. His areas of expertise included
plant geography 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 ...
and
systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic t ...
.


Career

Rothmaler's secondary schooling took place in
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
at the Wilhelm-Ernst-Gymnasium. His wide interests ranged from botany to painting and politics. He became friendly with the family of the artist
Lyonel Feininger Lyonel Charles Feininger (July 17, 1871January 13, 1956) was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist. He was born and grew up in New York City, traveling to Germa ...
and particularly with his son
Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The ...
, and he was inspired by the ideas of the
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...
. All this brought him into conflict with the school authorities and he left the school without his
abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen ye ...
. Kreisel, Hanns (1999) "Wir nannten ihn Vadder". – Werner Rothmaler – ein außergewöhnlicher Hochschullehrer 1908–1962. ''Greifswalder Universitätsreden'', Neue Folge Nr. 90. Greifswald 1999, (Abdruck eines Vortrages aus Anlass des 90. Geburtstages von Werner Rothmaler) From 1927, he completed a gardening apprenticeship at
Schloss Belvedere, Weimar The Baroque palace Schloss Belvedere on the outskirts of Weimar,The more famous Schloss Belvedere is located in Vienna. is a pleasure-house ('' Lustschloss'') built for house-parties, built in 1724–1732 to designs of Johann August Richter and ...
and in the gardens of the stately homes in
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...
. During his time in Potsdam he came into contact with the phytogeographer
Ludwig Diels Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (24 September 1874 – 30 November 1945) was a German botanist. Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Georg Pr ...
, Director of the Botanical Museum and the
Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
in
Berlin-Dahlem Dahlem ( or ) is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and ...
. Since his lack of school qualifications made university study impossible Rothmaler was offered a position as working student in
Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...
with the botanists Theodor Herzog,
Otto Renner Otto Renner (25 April 1883 in Neu-Ulm – 8 July 1960) was a German plant geneticist. Following the work of Erwin Baur, Renner established the theory of maternal plastid inheritance as a widely accepted genetic theory. He studied botany under Ka ...
and Erwin Brünning. For some time he worked as an archivist for aristocratic families in Hohenthurm near
Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-An ...
and in
Glauchau Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...
. By this time he was a member of the Communist Party ( KPD) and in 1933 it became desirable for him to leave Germany. His mentor from the Potsdam period, Ludwig Diels, got him a place on a botanical expedition to Spain. This turned into a stay of many years. At this time Rothmaler was occupied with various activities at botanical and pharmaceutical institutions, but meanwhile was still active as a collector of plants and thus developed an excellent knowledge of the Spanish flora. Much of his activity centred on
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and he had a series of casual jobs at the
University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
with Pius Font i Quer At the beginning of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, Rothmaler was on holiday in Portugal, and a return to Spain was no longer possible. However, he again managed to get different jobs, ending up at the National Agricultural Research Centre in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
. In 1940 it became impossible for him to stay in Portugal and he was forcibly repatriated with his wife to Germany. He was briefly interned in a camp near Metz,Wer war wer in der DDR?
/ref> then was drafted into the army. After seven months of military service, he was released on the grounds of pulmonary tuberculosis. He then spent some time working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology in Berlin under
Fritz von Wettstein Friedrich Wettstein, Ritter von Westersheim (24 June 1895 in Prague – 12 February 1945 in Trins, Tirol) was an Austrian botanist. Academic career Fritz Wettstein was the son of Richard Wettstein. From 1925 he was professor at Göttingen, i ...
. In June 1943 he managed to obtain exemption from the matriculation requirements and to graduate at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin with the thesis ''Studies of the Vegetation of Southwestern Portugal''. At the end of
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
Rothmaler was near
Stecklenberg Stecklenberg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 23 November 2009, it is part of the town Thale. Sights The ''Glockenstein'' is a granite block in the shape of a bell that was proba ...
in
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 ...
. The predecessor of today's
Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
had been relocated there. Under the influence of the Soviet cultural officers the research group was assigned a large agricultural operation, the Gatersleben estate, near
Gatersleben Gatersleben () is a village and a former municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the town Seeland, Germany, Seeland. It is situated southwest of Magdeburg and northwest of Halle, ...
to move to. Rothmaler was soon appointed to a position as head of department. In 1947 Rothmaler was awarded his doctorate from the
University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
with a still unpublished work on the genus Lachemilla (family
Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorb ...
), which is widespread in Central and South America. In 1949 he became lecturer in Halle, and in 1950 full Professor. From work done in his time in Gatersleben and Halle, in 1950 Rothmaler published his ''Allgemeine Taxonomie und Chorologie der Pflanzen'' (General
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
and chorology of plants), and the first edition of his ''Exkursionsflora'' (Excursion flora). In 1953, Rothmaler was appointed professor at
Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rosto ...
, where he was made head of the Institute for Agricultural Biology. From its early days until his death he was an active participant in the work of
Flora Europaea The ''Flora Europaea'' is a 5-volume encyclopedia of plants, published between 1964 and 1993 by Cambridge University Press. The aim was to describe all the national Floras of Europe in a single, authoritative publication to help readers identify ...
. On the initiative of Rothmaler the student scientific circle, "Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck" was established in 1953 for students at the University of Greifswald interested in field biology, zoology, botany and environmental matters.Lamarck at Greifswald in English
/ref> In 1954 he was made founding President of the GDR's Gesellschaft zur Verbreitung wissenschaftlicher Kenntnisse (Society for the dissemination of scientific knowledge), a post he held until his death. In 1958 he was awarded the silver
Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...
.


Works

Rothmaler was author and editor of a series of botanical monographs and textbooks. He produced more than 190 publications, including a monograph on the genus
Antirrhinum ''Antirrhinum'' is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers, snapdragons and dog flower because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native t ...
(1956) and his most famous work, the '' Exkursionsflora von Deutschland'' (Excursion flora of Germany) (3 volumes) (1966). The current edition of the Excursion flora (commonly known just as "Rothmaler") consists of five volumes: Lower plants (Volume 1), vascular plants – main volume (volume 2), vascular plants – illustrations (volume 3), Critical volume (volume 4) and Volume 5 – Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants. Unlike other floras, such as that of Erich Oberdorfer, the second volume is supplemented by a third volume (vascular plants), in which the essential particulars are clarified by line drawings. The third volume contains black and white drawings of all determinable 2800 species in the second volume, making it a unique resource for the identification of species. The fourth volume also includes critical taxa of vascular plants, i.e. subspecies, varieties or ecotypes in large numbers. In contrast, the habitat information given on the plants is not as detailed as in Oberdorfer. The fifth volume was published in 2008, and will allow the identification of the herbaceous ornamental and useful plants cultivated in the field in Germany.


Taxa honouring Rothmaler

The genus Rothmaleria Font Quer (with the species Rothmaleria granatensis) from the daisy family (
Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...
) is named after Werner Rothmaler. In addition to this genus name the following names of plant species, subspecies and hybrids, as well as a fungal species preserve his name: * '' Alchemilla rothmaleri'' * '' Alyssum rothmaleri'' (= ''A. minus'') * '' Armeria rothmaleri'' 1987 * ''
Centaurea paniculata ''Centaurea paniculata'', the Jersey knapweed, is a species of ''Centaurea'' found in France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overs ...
'' ssp. ''rothmalerana'' = '' C. rothmalerana'' = ''Acosta rothmalerana'' * ''
Festuca rubra ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in c ...
'' L. var. ''rothmaleri'' = ''F. rothmaleri'' * ''Helianthum'' x ''rothmaleri'' * ''
Hieracium laevigatum ''Hieracium laevigatum'', or smooth hawkweed, is a Eurasian plant species in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of Europe and western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the western ...
'' ssp. ''rothmaleri'' * '' Lupinus rothmaleri'' * '' Myrica rothmalerana'' * '' Phyllosticta rothmaleri'' * '' Silene rothmaleri''


Personal life

Rothmaler was married twice. From the first marriage (with Wilhelmine Neumann, 1911–2002) he had two daughters (Ursula and Susanne), from his second marriage (to Elisabeth Kecker, 1921–1993) two sons (Valentin and Philipp). Rothmaler was given a state funeral in Weimar. In 2008, to mark the centenary of his birth, on the initiative of the Lamarck Circle he founded, a plaque was attached to the former family home in Greifswald.


References


External links

*
page with pictures of ''Rothmaleria granatensis''


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothmaler, Werner 20th-century German botanists 1908 births 1962 deaths Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit University of Greifswald faculty East German scientists