August W. Eichler
Encyclopedia
August Wilhelm Eichler, also known under his Latinized name, Augustus Guilielmus Eichler (April 22, 1839 – March 2, 1887), was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
botanist who modified the classification system to better reflect the relationships between plants. He divided the plant kingdom into non-floral plants (Cryptogamae) and floral plants (Phanerogamae).
The Eichler System
Eichler system
A system of plant taxonomy, the Eichler system is an early phylogenetic or evolutionary system. It was published by August W. Eichler inAccording to Oudemans it divides plants into the following groups:* A. Cryptogamae*: phylum I. Thallophyta...
was the first to accept the concept of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
and therefore also the first to be considered phylogenetic. Moreover, Eichler was the first taxonomist to separate the Phanerogamae into Angiosperms and Gymnosperms and the former into Monocotyledonae and Dicotyledonae.
The Eichler system was the foundation for Adolf Engler's System
Engler system
One of the prime systems of plant taxonomy, the Engler system was devised by Adolf Engler.According to Engler, Syllabus der Pflanzenfamilien the main groups of plants are:* I. divisio Schizophyta* II. divisio Phytosarcodina...
and was widely accepted in Europe and other parts of the world.
Born in Neukirchen
Neukirchen (Knüll)
-Constituent communities:The town is made up of a main town bearing the same name as the whole town, and the centres of Asterode, Christerode, Hauptschwenda, Nausis, Wincherode, Riebelsdorf, and Seigertshausen.-History:...
, Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Eichler studied at the University of Marburg, Germany, and in 1871 became Professor of Botany
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...
at Technische Hochschule
Graz University of Technology
The Graz University of Technology is the second largest university in Styria, Austria, after the University of Graz. Austria has three universities of technology – in Graz, in Leoben, and in Vienna. The Graz University of Technology was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria. TUG, as the...
(Technical University), Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
. In 1872 he received an appointment at the University of Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
, where he remained until 1878 when he became director of the herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
at the University of Berlin. He died in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
on March 2, 1887.
Eichler made important contributions to the study of the comparative structure of flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s (mainly on floral symmetry in his work Blütendiagramme).
The standard author abbreviation Eichler is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing
Author citation (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
a botanical name
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
.
Works
- Blütendiagramme, Volume I:1875 and Volume II:1878 (Floral diagrams). (Available online at Botanicus.org Website)
- Flora Brasiliensis (Flora of BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) editor after death of Carl Friedrich Philipp von MartiusCarl Friedrich Philipp von MartiusCarl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was a German botanist and explorer.Martius was born at Erlangen, where he graduated M.D. in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the botanic garden of the university...
in 1868 until 1887, succeeded by Ignatz UrbanIgnatz UrbanIgnatz Urban was a German botanist. He is known for his contributions to the flora of the Caribbean and Brazil, and for his work as curator of the Berlin Botanical Garden. Born the son of a brewer, Urban showed an interest in botany as an undergraduate...
(Available online at Botanicus.org Website) - Syllabus der Vorlesungen über Phanerogamenkunde (1883) 3rd Edition, Berlin (Register of the lectures about Phanerogamae)
See also
External links
- Flora Brasiliensis On-Line. In Portuguese and English (launch date 22 March 2006).
- View digitized titles by August Wilhelm Eichler in Botanicus.org