Alexandr Innokentevich Tolmatchew
Encyclopedia
Alexandr Innokentevich Tolmatchew ' onMouseout='HidePop("87855")' href="/topics/Saint_Petersburg">St. Petersburg
16 November 1979, Leningrad
) was a twentieth century Russia
n and Soviet botanist
and phytogeographer
who was a leading expert in the flora of Russia's Arctic. He is the editor
of an important multi-volume set, Flora Of The Russian Arctic - A Critical Review Of The Vascular Plants Occurring In The Arctic Region Of The Former Soviet Union, edited by J. G. Packer and translated into English by G. C. D. Griffiths.
Tolmatchew was an expert in the family Juncaceae
, and the West Siberian species Luzula tolmatchewii
was named after him by Russian Arctic and subarctic botanist Vladimir Borisovich Kuvaev. He was also an expert in some areas of the Brassicaceae
or mustard family, the Caryophyllaceae
or carnation family, the Papaveraceae
or poppy family and the Ranunculaceae
or buttercup family.
Tolmatchew had broad interests in the natural history of the Arctic including its insects
, birds
and soil
s. He was appointed head of the USSR's Academy of Sciences
Office for the Studies of the Northern Areas in Arkhangelsk
in 1939 after serving for a few years as head of its botanical section. He next transferred during World War II
to the Stalinbad
USSR Academy of Sciences offices in Tajikistan
, then worked in the early 1950s in the Sakhalin
office of the USSR Academy of Sciences, before returning to and settling in Leningrad.
Tomatchew is the son of Russian and Siberia
n mammoth
hunter, and paleobotanist
, Innokenty Pablovich Tolmachoff, who immigrated to the United States in 1918 in the company of American inventor Vladimir K. Zworykin. The difference in spelling of the surnames is due to the time of transliteration, the son remained in the Soviet Union after his father's emigration.
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
16 November 1979, Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) was a twentieth century Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Soviet botanist
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and phytogeographer
Phytogeography
Phytogeography , also called geobotany, is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution of plant species...
who was a leading expert in the flora of Russia's Arctic. He is the editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of an important multi-volume set, Flora Of The Russian Arctic - A Critical Review Of The Vascular Plants Occurring In The Arctic Region Of The Former Soviet Union, edited by J. G. Packer and translated into English by G. C. D. Griffiths.
Tolmatchew was an expert in the family Juncaceae
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
, and the West Siberian species Luzula tolmatchewii
Luzula
Luzula is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants the family Juncaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution, the highest species diversity being in temperate Asia and Europe....
was named after him by Russian Arctic and subarctic botanist Vladimir Borisovich Kuvaev. He was also an expert in some areas of the Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
or mustard family, the Caryophyllaceae
Caryophyllaceae
The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...
or carnation family, the Papaveraceae
Papaveraceae
Papaveraceae, informally known as the poppy family, are an economically important family of 44 genera and approximately 770 species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates, but almost unknown in the tropics...
or poppy family and the Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae are a family of about 1700 species of flowering plants in about 60 genera, distributed worldwide....
or buttercup family.
Tolmatchew had broad interests in the natural history of the Arctic including its insects
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, birds
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
and soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s. He was appointed head of the USSR's Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
Office for the Studies of the Northern Areas in Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
in 1939 after serving for a few years as head of its botanical section. He next transferred during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to the Stalinbad
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
USSR Academy of Sciences offices in Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, then worked in the early 1950s in the Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
office of the USSR Academy of Sciences, before returning to and settling in Leningrad.
Tomatchew is the son of Russian and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
hunter, and paleobotanist
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
, Innokenty Pablovich Tolmachoff, who immigrated to the United States in 1918 in the company of American inventor Vladimir K. Zworykin. The difference in spelling of the surnames is due to the time of transliteration, the son remained in the Soviet Union after his father's emigration.