Benjamin Matlack Everhart (born 24 April 1818; died 22 September 1904) was a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
mycologist.
Biography
His father,
William Everhart, the son of a
Revolutionary soldier, was a merchant, and a member of
congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
in 1853-55. Benjamin was educated in private schools in West Chester, and spent his early life in mercantile business there and in
Charleston, South Carolina, making a comfortable fortune.
From boyhood, he was an ardent student of
botany
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 w ...
, and after retiring from business in 1867 he devoted himself almost entirely to that science, particularly to
cryptogam
A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...
ic botany. In connection with
J. B. Ellis, of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, he was active in issuing yearly fifty volumes, called ''The Century of North American Fungi'', each volume describing 100 species. At the same time, with
William A. Kellerman, of
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, they published the ''Journal of Mycology''.
He discovered many new fungi. The genus ''Everhartia'' was named by
Pier Andrea Saccardo
Pier Andrea Saccardo (23 April 1845 in Treviso, Treviso – 12 February 1920 in Padua) was an Italian botanist and mycologist.
Life
Saccardo studied at the Lyceum in Venice, and then at the Technical Institute of the University of Padua wher ...
in Everhart's honour (in 1888),
as well as the following species:
* ''Everhartia hymenuloides'' Sacc. et Ellis
* ''Melanconis Everhartii'' Ellis
* ''Myrioccoccum Everhartii'' Ellis & Sacc.
* ''Ophionectria Everhartii'' Ellis & Gal.
* ''Mucronoporus Everhartii'' Ellis & Gal.
* ''Pestalozzia Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
* ''Sorosporium Everhartii'' Ellis & Gal.
* ''Dothiorella Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
* ''Gloeosporium Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
* ''Myxosporium Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
* ''Phyllosticta Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
* ''Physalospora Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
* ''Septoria Everhartii'' Sacc. & Syd.
Family
His brother
James Bowen Everhart was a member of congress.
Notes
References
*
Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everhart, Benjamin Matlack
1818 births
1904 deaths
American mycologists
People from West Chester, Pennsylvania
19th-century American businesspeople