Johann Daniel Leers

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Johann Daniel Leers (born February 23, 1727 in Wunsiedel , † December 7, 1774 in Herborn ) was a botanist and pharmacist . Its botanical author abbreviation is " Leers ".

Life

In 1740 Leers was an apprentice pharmacist in Nuremberg and other cities. He studied in Strasbourg, headed the Hohe-Schul-Apotheke in Herborn from 1755 and devoted himself to the scientific research of the Herborn flora. His main work is the Flora Herbornensis (1775).

plant

The special thing about Leers' work is that for the first time he described the flora of his homeland precisely and provided it with locations. A description of the plants he found in 1140 in the Dillkreis is arranged according to the then still controversial Linnaeus classes. The plants were depicted by him in watercolors, drawings and engraved boards. Strangely enough, no contacts are known to the botanist Catharina Helena Dörrien, who lives in the neighboring town of Dillenburg , but to the Swiss polymath and botanist Albrecht von Haller . A desired station to a fauna of Nassau was never completed.

The German florist Georg Franz Hoffmann acquired part of his scientific collection, while the doctor Johann Karl Fuchs took another part with him to the Russian city of Kazan . Hoffmann's part was lost in the fire in Moscow in 1812, Fuchs' part is lost.

Honor

Memorial plaque for Johann Daniel Leers at the house "Zum Einhorn" opposite the "High School" (Herborn)

Leers' particular interest was the grasses. About ten plants were named after him as the first descriptor or first namesake. After many changes in the plant nomenclature , only one plant now bears his name: Leersia oryzoides , from the sweet grass family (Poaceae, wild rice). In Herborn a botanical society ("Friends of Flora Herbornensis") is named after him.

aftermath

Lehrs Flora Herbornensis was only published by his son in 1775 ( posthumously ) at his own expense and later appeared in other publishers (Berlin, Gießen and Cologne) due to demand. An original is still in the library of the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau of the former High School in Herborn . As a result, many botanical guides appeared (e.g. JL Hergt: An attempt at a systematic flora from Hadamar with a guide to plant knowledge for schools, Hadamar 1822 published by the Neue Schehrten-Buchhandlung), which also referred to local botany, but not in Latin , the language of science, but for further dissemination in German. Friedrich Graffmann also pursued similar goals: in 1988 he translated Flora Herbornensis and compared the plant locations of that time with their current appearance. Even today, the biodiversity in the Lahn-Dill-Bergland nature park in the Hörre area in the Sinner and Herborner Beilstein zones can be traced in relation to changes in the environment.

literature

  • Johann Daniel Leers: Flora Herbornensis , edition in German, 1988

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Otto Renkhoff: Nassauische Biographie , p. 453, ISBN 3-922244-90-4
  2. ↑ Heimatjahrbuch für den Dillkreis , 5th ed. 1962, pp. 33–40: "Johann Daniel Leers und seine Flora Herbornensis"
  3. ↑ Heimatjahrbuch für den Dillkreis , 5th ed. 1962, p. 39
  4. ↑ K. Lauber, G. Wagner: Flora Helvetica , 2nd edition 1998, ISBN 3-258-05735-4
  5. ↑ Botany and nature conservation in Hessen 24, Frankfurt 2012, pp. 145–148: Obituary for Friedrich Graffmann
  6. ↑ KF Müller: Park and Villa Haas , 2012, ISBN 978-3-86468-160-8
personal data
SURNAME Leers, Johann Daniel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Leers, Johann Georg Daniel (full name); Leers (botanical author abbreviation)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German botanist and pharmacist
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1727
PLACE OF BIRTH Wunsiedel
DATE OF DEATH December 7, 1774
Place of death Herborn