Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy pl, Teodor Koczy (15 April 1813 – 11 June 1866) was an Austrian botanist and explorer. On his botanical investigations, Kotschy collected large amount of plants and herbs. He also described forty species of oaks in this work, some of them new to science.

Biography

Kotschy was born in Ustroń in

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

(today

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

). He was the son of theologian Carl Friedrich Kotschy (1789–1856). Kotschy studied theology in Vienna from 1833. From 1836 to 1862 he performed extensive botanical research throughout the Middle East and northern Africa, in which he collected over 300,000 botanical specimens. Beginning in 1836, he accompanied

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...

Joseph Russegger (1802–1863) on a scientific trip to

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian language, Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from th ...

and Syria, afterwards journeying through

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin language, Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue ...

and

Sennar Sennar ( ar, سنار ') is a city on the Blue Nile in Sudan and possibly the capital of the state of Sennar. It remains publicly unclear whether Sennar or Singa is the capital of Sennar State. For several centuries it was the capital of th ...

. Following the dissolution with Russegger's expedition, he remained in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. He later traveled to

Kurdufan Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory ...

(1839),

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, Syria,

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

and

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...

(1840–41); and during 1842–43 he undertook an expedition to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

. He was appointed Assistant Curator in 1847 and Custos-Adjunct in 1852 at Vienna. In 1862 he performed additional botanical research in Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon (1855) in Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Kurdistan (1859), and back to Cyprus (1862). He died in Vienna at the age of 53.

Legacy

The plant genus '' Kotschya'' from the family Fabaceae is named in his honor. His name is associated with a species of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...

, "Kotschy’s

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

" ('' Cyrtopodion kotschyi'' ), and with the Cyprus bee orchid (''Ophrys kotschyi'').Cyprus Bee Orchid. ''ukwildflowers.com''.
Retrieved 4 August 2017. His name is also used for a

crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain underg ...

species - '' Crocus kotschyanus'', discovered by him in SE Turkey.

Selected publications

* ''Reise in den cilicischen Taurus überTarsus''. (1858); First description of the region of Bulghar Dagh, western Taurus. * ''Abbildungen und Beschreibungen neuer und seltener Thiere und Pflanzen, in Syrien und im westlichen Taurus gesammelt'', (Illustrations and descriptions of new and rare animals and plants, in Syria and western Taurus); (1843) * ''Analecta botanica'' (with

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott Heinrich Wilhelm Schott (7 January 1794 in Brünn (Brno), Moravia – 5 March 1865 at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist well known for his extensive work on aroids (Araceae). He studied botany, agriculture and chemistry ...

(1794–1865) and Carl Fredrik Nyman 1820–1893), (1854) * ''Coniferen des Cilicischen Taurus'' (Conifers of Cilician Taurus), (with

Franz Antoine Franz Antoine (23 February 1815 in the on the Löwelbastei, Vienna – 11 March 1886) was an Austrian horticulturalist and gardener. From 1865 he was director of royal gardens to the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian monarchy. He was an authority ...

1815–1886), (1855) * ''Die Eichen Europas und des Orients'', (Oaks of Europe and the Orient); (1858–1862) * ''Plantae Tinneanae'' (with Johann Joseph Peyritsch 1835–1889); (1867)

References

Note

* ''Parts of this article are based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia) ...

.''

External links

Itinerary in southern Persia 1842-43
biography of Theodor Kotschy
Die Eichen Europas und des Orients
- High-resolution scan of Kotschy's book of descriptions and illustrations of oaks. 1813 births 1866 deaths People from Ustroń 19th-century Austrian botanists People from Austrian Silesia Austrian people of Polish descent {{Austria-botanist-stub