Christian Friedrich Schwägrichen (16 September 1775,

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

– 2 May 1853, Leipzig) was a German

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 ...

specializing in the field of

bryology Bryology (from Greek , a moss, a liverwort) is the branch of botany concerned with the scientific study of bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts). Bryologists are botanists who have an active interest in observing, recording, classifying ...

. In 1799, he obtained his medical doctorate from the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), 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 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, where he was later an associate professor of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

(1803–1815) and afterwards a full professor on the same subject (1815–1852). Concurrently, he served as an associate professor of botany (1807–1852) at Leipzig.Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig , catalogus professorum lipsiensium
(biography) Prior to 1837, he was director of 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. is ...

at Leipzig, being succeeded by Gustav Kunze, a specialist in the field of

pteridology The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

. Schwägrichen died on 2 May 1853 as the result of a fall down a flight of stairs. He is the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon), and these groups are given ...

of the

bryophyte Bryophytes () are a group of embryophyte, land plants (embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic Division (taxonomy), division referred to as Bryophyta ''Sensu#Common qualifiers, sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular pla ...

families

Polytrichaceae Polytrichaceae is a common family of mosses. Members of this family tend to be larger than other mosses, with the larger species occurring in particularly moist habitats. The leaves have specialized sheaths at the base and a midrib that bears pho ...

and

Funariaceae The Funariaceae are a family of mosses in the order Funariales Funariales is an order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categoriza ...

. The genus ''Schwaegrichenia'' is named in his honor.

Published works

* "Topographiae botanicae et entomologicae Lipsiensis", four volumes, (1799-1806). * "Joannis Hedwig...species muscorum frondosorum descriptae et tabulis aeneis lxxvii coloratis illustratae /opus posthumum, editum a Friderico Schwaegrichen". Lipsiae (Leipzig) : sumtu J. A. Barthii ; Parisiis, A. Koenig, 1801. (as editor, main author

Johann Hedwig Johann Hedwig (8 December 1730 – 18 February 1799), also styled as Johannes Hedwig, was a German botanist notable for his studies of mosses. He is sometimes called the "father of bryology". He is known for his particular observations of sexual ...

). ** "Catalogue of the Hedwig-Schwägrichen Herbarium (G)". by Michelle J Price, (2005).WorldCat Title
Catalogue of the Hedwig-Schwägrichen Herbarium * ''Leitfaden zum Unterrichte in der Naturgeschichte für Schulen'', two volumes, (1803) - Guide towards the teaching of

in schools. * ''Anleitung zum Studium der Botanik'', Leipzig (1806) - Guide to studies of botany. * "Historiae muscorum hepaticorum prodromus", Leipzig (1814).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwagrichen, Christian Friedrich 1775 births 1853 deaths Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of Leipzig University Scientists from Leipzig 19th-century German botanists German bryologists 18th-century German botanists