
Carl Ferdinand Appun (24 May 1820,
Bunzlau- July 1872,
Guyana) was a German
naturalist.
On the recommendation of
Alexander von Humboldt Appun was employed by
Frederick William IV of Prussia as a
botanist
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
where excepting a one-year break in Germany, he spent ten years exploring the flora. After that he went to British Guayana, where he researched as a botanist on behalf the
British government. He also visited parts of
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
-the Rio Branco and Rio Negro on the Amazon to Tabatinga. During a visit in Germany (1868–1871) he published a set of essays in different magazines . His best known work'' Unter den Tropen'' (''Under the Tropics'') was at that time extremely popular. In 1871 he undertook a second exploration of Guyana, where he had an accident which led to his death. His last writings were essays about
Indigenous peoples in Venezuela.
Appun described many new plant species and is also known as an
entomologist.
Works
*''Über die Behandlung von Sämerein und Pflanzen des tropischen Süd-Amerika, besonders Venezuela’s''. Bunzlau 1858
*''Unter den Tropen: Wanderungen durch Venezuela, am Orinoco, durch Britisch Guyana und am Amazonenstrome in den Jahren 1849-1868''. Jena: Costenoble, 1871.
*''Venezuela''. Jena: Costenoble, 1871. Unter den Tropen; 1.
*''Britisch Guyana''. Jena: Costenoble, 1871. Unter den Tropen; 2.
*with
Eduard Raimund Baierlein ''Bei den Indianern''. Berlin; Leipzig: Hillger, 1915. Deutsche Jugendbücherei; Nr 104
Collections
The
Museum für Naturkunde contains
Diptera collected by Appun in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
.
References
* Papavero, N. (1973): ''Essays on the history of Neotropical dipterology, with special reference to collectors (1750-1905)''. São Paulo: Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo.
*
Herbert Scurla (1968): ''Im Lande der Kariben. Reisen deutscher Forscher des 19. Jahrhunderts in Guayana. Alexander von Humboldt. Robert Schomburgk. Richard Schomburgk. Carl Ferdinand Appun''. Berlin: Verlag der Nation, 1964; 3. Auflage.
* Julius Loewenberg (1875): ''Appun, Karl Ferdinand'', in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB), Band 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appun, Carl Ferdinand Appun
19th-century German botanists
German entomologists
1820 births
1872 deaths
People from Bolesławiec