Armando Hunziker

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Armando Teodoro Hunziker (born August 29, 1919 in Chacabuco , † December 12, 2001 in Córdoba ) was an Argentine botanist . His special field of interest was the systematics of the nightshade family , to which he made a major contribution through his extensive research and publications. Its official botanical author's abbreviation is “ Hunz. ".

Life

Armando Hunziker was born in 1919 into a family of Swiss descent. He learned many languages ​​from his aunt, including German, French, English and Italian.

He studied agricultural science at the University of Buenos Aires , where he also met his mentor Professor Lorenzo Parodi. At the age of 22, without an academic degree, he received the "José Manuel de Altoaguirre Prize", the first award for his work. He wrote his thesis on the types of devil's thread ( Cuscuta ) in Argentina and Uruguay.

In 1945, at the age of 25, he took over the post of curator at the Botanical Museum of the University of Cordoba . This attitude was made possible for him, among others, with the help of Nobel Prize winner Bernardo Alberto Houssay . From 1947 to 1982 he held the chair of the professor for vascular plants at the university .

When the National Research Council CONICET was re-established in 1961, he took on a permanent position as a researcher in this institution, where he soon rose to the highest ranks and from 1991 to 1994 also held a position on the board of directors. Also in 1961 he started the journal Kurtziana , for which he acted as editor until 1998.

The award of research grants made it possible for him to stay abroad several times. His first research stay abroad took him to Harvard University , where he worked with Professor IW Bailey. 1954 followed a research stay at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew (England). 1961 to 1962 and 1979 to 1980 he was able to carry out further research stays in the USA thanks to grants from the Guggenheim Foundation .

After Hunziker gave up the chair at the University of Córdoba and retired, he was first awarded an honorary professorship by the University of Buenos Aires (1981) and later by the University of Córdoba.

When Hunziker learned that he had cancer in 1999, he ended all ongoing projects to focus on work on his book Genera Solanacearum: The Genera of Solanaceae Illustrated, Arranged According to a new System , in which he completed his almost lifelong work to the nightshade family . The book was completed and published shortly before his death.

research

He published over 150 scientific papers and created the initial descriptions of a large number of plant species.

Plant naming in honor of Hunziker

To honor the work of Hunziker, a large number of new taxa were named after him by different authors. These include the genus Hunzikeria D'Arcy (Solanaceae), as well as the species Capsicum hunzikerianum Barboza & Bianchetti , Euphorbia hunzikeri Subils , jaltomata hunzikeri Mione , Justicia hunzikeri Ariza , Larnax hunzikeriana Benitez & Martinez , Lycium hunzikeri F. A. Barkley , Melica hunzikeri Nicora , Physalis hunzikeriana Martinez , Sclerophylax hunzikeri Di Fulvio , Setaria hunzikeri Anton , Stipa hunzikeri Caro and the Hysterionica aberrans variety hunzikeri Ariza .

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personal data
SURNAME Hunziker, Armando
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hunziker, Armando Teodoro (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Argentine botanist
DATE OF BIRTH August 29, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Chacabuco
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 2001
Place of death Cordoba , Argentina