William Nylander (botanist)
William Nylander (born January 3, 1822 in Oulu , † March 29, 1899 in Paris , France ) was a Finnish zoologist , botanist and especially lichenologist . Its official botanical author's abbreviation is “ Nyl. "
life and work
Nylander received his doctorate in medicine at the University of Helsinki in 1847 , but then turned to zoology, especially insect research ( entomology ), then to botany. In 1857 he received the professorship for the newly created chair of botany at the University of Helsinki. After six years, however, he gave up this post and moved to Paris, where he lived as a predominantly freelance scientist without a permanent position (apart from occasional work at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle ) and a regular income. It was not until 1878 that he received a modest pension from Finland. In Paris he built up an extensive collection of lichen and developed into one of the world's leading lichenologists of his time. Overall, he described an estimated 3,000 species or forms of lichens and published over 300 scientific papers. As a taxonomic aid, he introduced chemical identification methods that are still used today in lichenology ( iodide , hypochlorite ), which reveal relationships through color reactions. On the other hand, he was fierce opponent of the theory of Simon Schwendener , which was later recognized to be correct , who interpreted lichen as a symbiosis between algae and fungus partner.
Nylander was one of the first to point out the connection between air pollution and declining lichen growth and thus laid the basis for the use of lichens as bioindicators for air quality.
Nylander's lichen collection with more than 50,000 samples is now at the University of Helsinki in the Finnish Museum of National History.
Honors
According to Nylander, the lichen genera are Nylanderaria Kuntze , Nylanderiella Hue , Nylanderopsis Gyeln. and the genus Nylandera Har. named.
Individual evidence
- ↑ W. Nylander: Les lichens du Luxembourg . Bull. Soc. Fr. 13, pp. 364-372, 1866
- ↑ 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 .
Web links
- Author entry and list of the plant names described for William Nylander (botanist) at the IPNI
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nylander, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish zoologist, botanist and lichenologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 3, 1822 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oulu |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 29, 1899 |
| Place of death | Paris |