Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch (5 February 1714, 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 ...

– 5 October 1786, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) was a German physician and botanist known for pioneer investigations of

plant sexuality Plant reproductive morphology is the study of the physical form and structure (the morphology) of those parts of plants directly or indirectly concerned with sexual reproduction. Among all living organisms, flowers, which are the reproductive s ...

and reproduction.

Biography

He studied medicine and other subjects at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

(1728–35), where one of his instructors was the naturalist Johann Ernst Hebenstreit (1703–1757). From 1742 he gave lectures in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

, botany and materia medica at the University of Frankfurt, afterwards relocating to Berlin as a professor of botany at the Collegium Medico-chirurgicum and director of the local

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 ...

. Beginning in 1770, he gave lectures at the recently established institute of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

, where he was instrumental in providing a scientific basis for the field of forestry. In his experiments involving plant movement, he demonstrated the influence that climatic factors had upon

plant organ In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...

s. Also, his view on the role that insects play in

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

of plants was considered to be ahead of its time.Deutsche Biographie
/ref> The botanical genus ''

Gleditsia ''Gleditsia'' (honey locust) is a genus of trees in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae, native to North America and Asia. The Latin name commemorates Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch, director of the Berlin Botanical Garden, who died in 1 ...

'' (family Fabaceae) is named in his honor, as is the botanical journal ''Gleditschia''. In Berlin-Schöneberg, a thoroughfare called ''Gleditschstraße'' bears his name.

Selected works

* "Consideratio Epicriseos Siegesbeckianae in Linnaei Systema Plantorum Sexuale Et Methodum Botanicam Huic Superstructam", 1740 – dissertation in which Gleditsch recognized the importance of the

Linnean System Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts: # The particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his '' Systema Naturae'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus ...

. * "Systema plantarum a staminum situ Systema plantarum a staminum situ", 1764. * ''Vermischte physicalisch-botanisch-oeconomische Abhandlungen'', 1765 – Mixed physical-botanical-economic treatises.Open Library
(publications) * ''Systematische Einleitung in die neuere, aus ihren eigenthümlichen physikalisch-ökonomischen Gründen hergeleitete Forstwissenschaft'' (two volumes, 1775) – Systematic introduction to the newly (due to unique physical-economic reasons) derived forestry.

References

External links

IPNI
List of plants described or co-described by Gleditsch. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleditsch, Johann Gottlieb 1714 births 1786 deaths Scientists from Leipzig 18th-century German botanists Leipzig University alumni German foresters