Rudolf von Uechtritz

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Rudolf von Uechtritz

Rudolf Karl Friedrich von Uechtritz (born December 31, 1838 in Breslau , † November 21, 1886 in Breslau) was a German entomologist and botanist . Its official botanical author's abbreviation is " R.Uechtr. "

Live and act

The father, Max FS von Uechtritz, was a former captain who carried out botanical and entomological studies, owned larger collections and also wrote scientific reports. Son Rudolf was therefore influenced by the natural sciences at an early age. From 1849 to 1857 he attended the Maria-Magdalenen-Gymnasium in Breslau .

As a schoolboy, he went on an excursion to Moravia in 1855 and to the High Tatras in 1856 . After graduating from high school, he studied at the University of Breslau from 1858 to 1863 under Heinrich Göppert , Ferdinand Cohn , Carl Löwig and Richard Roepell . Initially more devoted to entomology, Uechtritz now concentrated his studies entirely on botany. In 1858 Tyrol , Veneto and the neighboring regions were the destination of his botanical excursions. This was followed by Thuringia and Franconia (1860), the area around Halle (Saale) and Leipzig (1861) and the eastern part of the province of Brandenburg (1862). Only 23 years old, he fell ill with rheumatoid disease , which influenced his degree and temporarily prevented any kind of travel. All the more, he intensified contacts with other researchers in his discipline.

He corresponded with almost all botanists and natural scientists living in Europe at the time. The following is only an excerpt from a list that he himself made: Paul Friedrich August Ascherson , John Gilbert Baker , Pierre Edmond Boissier , Vincze von Borbás , Alexander Braun , François Crépin , Elias Magnus Fries , Christian August Friedrich Garcke , August Grisebach , Lajos Haynald , Julius Milde , Anton Kerner von Marilaun , Karl Johann Maximowicz , August Neilreich , Josif Pančić , Jan Evangelista Purkyně , Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach , Georg Schweinfurth , Ignaz Urban , Veit Brecher Wittrock . He was benevolently referred to as "the man with the long letters" by his botanical correspondence partners.

Due to his own excursions and the knowledge he gained, as well as the intensive and extensive written exchange with his European research friends, he was one of the best experts on European flora . Species and hybrids in different genera bear his name. From 1857 he published scientific articles in the Austrian Botanical Journal . More extensive publications were denied him due to his increasingly deteriorating health. In a letter he wrote: “ When I saw a plant that I was interested in and that I did not know, I felt healthy, although I was sick, and very sick. “Uechtritz was characterized by the joy of investigation and research as well as communicability and selfless support of others, whose research was like his own. He even passed on the results of years of research, for example to Emil Fiek for his work Flora von Schlesien , published in Breslau in 1881 , Prussian and Austrian Antheils and to the Austro-Hungarian botany professor August Kanitz for his publication (1881) Plantae Romaniae . His written estate was acquired by the botanist Adolf Engler for further scientific analysis.

Honor taxon

The genus Uechtritzia Freyn of the sunflower family (Asteraceae) was named in his honor.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .

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personal data
SURNAME Uechtritz, Rudolf von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Uechtritz, Rudolf Karl Friedrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entomologist and botanist
DATE OF BIRTH December 31, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1886
Place of death Wroclaw