Georg Kükenthal (30 March 1864 in Weißenfels – 20 October 1955 in

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

) was a German

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and

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 ...

who specialized in the field of caricology. He was the brother of zoologist

Willy Kükenthal Wilhelm (Willy) Georg Kükenthal (4 August 1861, Weißenfels – 20 August 1922, Berlin) was a German zoologist. He was the older brother of botanist and theologian Georg Kükenthal (1864–1955). Kükenthal specialized in the Octocorallia an ...

(1861–1922). From 1882 to 1885 he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the universities of

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

and Halle. He worked as a pastor in

Grub am Forst Grub am Forst is a municipality in the district of Coburg in Bavaria in Germany. It has ca 3,100 residents. The nearest large town is Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia regi ...

, and later in

. In 1913 he received an honorary degree from the University of Breslau. Kükenthal was a leading authority on

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

s. In his 1909 monograph, he divided the genus ''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of over 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family (biology), family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of ge ...

'' into four

subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

: ''Primocarex'', ''Vignea'', ''Indocarex'' and ''Eucarex''. ''Carex'' is the largest monophyletic (natural) genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s; Kükenthal's monograph remains the only comprehensive, worldwide treatment. On 8 July 1920 he was finally elected as the last General Superintendent and thus the highest clergyman of the independent regional church of Coburg. After the Coburg regional church joined the Bavarian regional church on 1 April 1921, Kükenthal was head of the Evangelical Lutheran deanery of Coburg until his retirement on 1 July 1928.

Selected publications

* ''Cyperaceae-Caricoideae'', etc., in

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with K ...

's ''

Das Pflanzenreich Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

'' (1909) – On

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

-Caricoideae. * ''Beiträge zur Flora von Coburg und Umgebung'' (1930) – Contributions to the flora of Coburg and surroundings. * ''Cyperaceae-Scirpoideae-Cypereae'', etc., in ''Das Pflanzenreich'' (1936) – On Cyperaceae-Scirpoideae-Cypereae.

References

Collectors of lichens and lichenicolous fungi of Germany
(biographical information)

by Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi· 5 May 2003 * Global Carex Group (2015
''Making Carex monophyletic (Cyperaceae, tribe Cariceae): a new broader circumscription.''
Bot J Linn Soc, 179: 1–42. doi:10.1111/boj.12298 19th-century German botanists 1864 births 1955 deaths University of Tübingen alumni People from Weißenfels University of Halle alumni 20th-century German botanists {{Germany-botanist-stub

Selected publications

See also

References