Paul Christoph Hennings (November 27, 1841 – October 14, 1908) was a German
mycologist and
herbarium curator. He discovered the study of
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 ...
s and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevented him to study in that area, he later returned to natural sciences and eventually rose to a position at the largest herbarium in Germany. Originally interested in all non-higher plants, he specialised into mushrooms and became particularly versed in tropical species sent from abroad.
Biography
Borne in
Heide
Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000.
The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...
, he was attracted early to plant sciences early and as a young man attracted the attention of director
Ernst Ferdinand Nolte
Ernst Ferdinand Nolte (24 December 1791, Hamburg – 18 February 1875, Kiel) was a German botanist. He was son-in-law to chemist Christoph Heinrich Pfaff (1773–1852).
After duties as a pharmacy apprentice in Goslar, he studied medicine at the Un ...
while a volunteer at the
. After an interlude caused by the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...
, and during which he worked in the postal services. This job, which he abhorred, forced to move a number of times until he could settle in 1867 in
Hohenwestedt, where he remained until 1874. There he began lecturing at the Agricultural School (german: Landwirtschaftsschule). He also began issuing exsiccatae and seed collections until Nolte's successor,
August W. Eichler, appointed him as an assistant. When Eichler went to work at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...
herbarium, he soon invited the younger man to join him. A complete
autodidact, Hennings rose to become one of the foremost mycologists of his time, and particularly a specialist of tropical fungi thanks to the innumerable collections sent to Berlin from the German colonies and South America. He had two sons from his wife Mathilde, which he had married in 1876, but lost one to illness in 1907, which, in the words of his obituarist, "paralyzed his energies and stole the pen from
isbusy hand". He died within a year.
See also
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:Taxa named by Paul Christoph Hennings
References
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Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennings, Paul Christoph
1841 births
1908 deaths
German mycologists
People from Heide