Alfred Byrd Graf
Encyclopedia
Alfred Byrd Graf was a German-American botanist
who traveled the world in search of obscure plant species, discovering more than 100 previously undocumented varieties. He photographed and documented his findings in a number of richly illustrated (and correspondingly expensive) books he wrote on the subject.
Graf was born in Nuremberg
in December 1901 and studied at botanic gardens in Vienna and took courses in botany, photography and language throughout Europe, in California and at Fairleigh Dickinson University
.
He came to work on a ranch in Nebraska
in the 1920s and later established a floral shop in Sioux City, Iowa
that failed after his greenhouse was demolished as the result of a hailstorm. He found a position in 1931 with the Julius Roehrs Company, a tropical nursery in New Jersey
, where his experience growing orchids in his youth in Germany helped him tap into what was becoming a major field of interest in the U.S. With his position at Roehrs, his travels allowed him to bring back new species that the company could add to its catalog, which morphed into book form as the Exotic Plant Manual, complete with 7,000 photos.
Graf's writings were based on firsthand research done on travels around the world, having visited sites of plants that could be found on Mount Kilimanjaro
, in New Guinea
and throughout China
, India
and much of Asia, uncovering scores of previously undocumented species which he introduced to Western plant aficionados and carefully documented with his camera. Among his findings were the first known white African Violet
.
His books typically included thousands of his photographs and were priced accordingly. Roehrs Publishing released Exotica: Pictorial Cyclopedia of Indoor Plants in 1958 with in excess of 4,000 images, a guide to imported plants and the steps needed to grow them, his first book to receive widespread attention. The book was re-released in two volumes, with 16,000 illustrations decorating its 2,600 pages. Tropica covered plants from the areas in and around the tropics and included 7,000 images. First published in 1992, Hortica: Color Cyclopedia of Garden Flora and Exotic Plants Indoors covers thousands of ornamental plants.
He maintained a library of his photographs and travels at his home in East Rutherford, New Jersey
. Graf died at the age of 100 on December 14, 2001, at his home in Düsseldorf
, Germany, having returned there after living the majority of his life in the United States. He was survived by his wife Lieselotte Vorwerk, as well as by a daughter.
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...
who traveled the world in search of obscure plant species, discovering more than 100 previously undocumented varieties. He photographed and documented his findings in a number of richly illustrated (and correspondingly expensive) books he wrote on the subject.
Graf was born in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
in December 1901 and studied at botanic gardens in Vienna and took courses in botany, photography and language throughout Europe, in California and at Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
.
He came to work on a ranch in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
in the 1920s and later established a floral shop in Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
that failed after his greenhouse was demolished as the result of a hailstorm. He found a position in 1931 with the Julius Roehrs Company, a tropical nursery in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where his experience growing orchids in his youth in Germany helped him tap into what was becoming a major field of interest in the U.S. With his position at Roehrs, his travels allowed him to bring back new species that the company could add to its catalog, which morphed into book form as the Exotic Plant Manual, complete with 7,000 photos.
Graf's writings were based on firsthand research done on travels around the world, having visited sites of plants that could be found on Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
, in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and throughout China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and much of Asia, uncovering scores of previously undocumented species which he introduced to Western plant aficionados and carefully documented with his camera. Among his findings were the first known white African Violet
Saintpaulia
Saintpaulia, commonly known as African violet, is a genus of six species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent southeastern Kenya in eastern tropical Africa, with a concentration of species in the Nguru mountains of Tanzania...
.
His books typically included thousands of his photographs and were priced accordingly. Roehrs Publishing released Exotica: Pictorial Cyclopedia of Indoor Plants in 1958 with in excess of 4,000 images, a guide to imported plants and the steps needed to grow them, his first book to receive widespread attention. The book was re-released in two volumes, with 16,000 illustrations decorating its 2,600 pages. Tropica covered plants from the areas in and around the tropics and included 7,000 images. First published in 1992, Hortica: Color Cyclopedia of Garden Flora and Exotic Plants Indoors covers thousands of ornamental plants.
He maintained a library of his photographs and travels at his home in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
. Graf died at the age of 100 on December 14, 2001, at his home in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany, having returned there after living the majority of his life in the United States. He was survived by his wife Lieselotte Vorwerk, as well as by a daughter.