Franz Carl Mertens (3 April 1764 – 19 June 1831) was a German

botanist 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 wo ...

who was a native of

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

. He specialized in the field of

phycology Phycology () is the scientific study of algae. Also known as algology, phycology is a branch of life science. Algae are important as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Most algae are eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms that live in a w ...

. Mertens studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and languages at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, and after graduation taught classes at

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Polytechnic College. In his spare time he studied

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 through a mutual friend met German botanist

Albrecht Wilhelm Roth Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (6 January 1757 – 16 October 1834) was a physician and botanist born in Dötlingen, Germany. He studied medicine at the Universities of Halle and Erlangen, where he received his doctorate in 1778. After graduation, he pra ...

(1757–1834). With Roth, he took scientific expeditions throughout Europe, including

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. From these trips, Mertens described a number of species of

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

. He also performed illustrative work on Volume 3 of Roth's ''Catalecta botanica''. With

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

professor

Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch Wilhelm Daniel Joseph Koch (5 March 1771 – 14 November 1849) was a German physician and botanist from Kusel, a town in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Koch studied medicine at the Universities of Jena and Marburg, and afterwards was a '' Stadtphysic ...

(1771–1849), he published the third edition of

Johann Christoph Röhling Johann Christoph Röhling (27 April 1757 – 19 December 1813) was a German botanist and clergyman who was a native of Gundernhausen, a town near Darmstadt. He studied theology in Giessen, and later taught school in Frankfurt am Main. In 1792 he ...

's ''Deutschlands flora'', a five volume treatise on German flora. The plant

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Mertensia ''Mertensia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants with blue or sometimes white flowers that open from pink-tinged buds. Such a change in flower color is common in Boraginaceae and is ca ...

'' from the family

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

is named after him, while the

ctenophore Ctenophora (; ctenophore ; ) comprise a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), and ...

genus ''Mertensia'' is named after his son

Karl Heinrich Mertens Karl Heinrich Mertens (Russian: Андрей Карлович Мертенс, 17 May 1796 – 18 September 1830 Kronstadt), was a German botanist and naturalist, and son of the botanist Franz Carl Mertens. Mertens was aboard the Russian vessel ' ...

(1796-1830).

References

Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
1764 births 1831 deaths Scientists from Bielefeld 19th-century German botanists German phycologists 18th-century German botanists {{Germany-botanist-stub

See also

References