Eric Ragnor Sventenius
Encyclopedia
Eric Ragnor Sventenius (Erik Ragnar Svensson; also known simply as Eric (Erich, Enrico) Ragnor) (October 10, 1910—1973) was a Hispano
-Swedish
botanist.
Born in the small town of Skirö
, Vetlanda
, he studied in various universities across Europe
. In Spain
, he studied at the Marimurta Botanical Garden in Blanes
which had been founded in 1920 by Karl Faust. In 1931, he traveled to the Canary Islands
. In 1952, he began working at the Botanical Garden of Tenerife
(Jardín de Aclimatación de la Orotava). He studied and catalogued unclassified Canarian species
.
Sventenius proposed creating a botanical garden dedicated to Canarian flora
, continuing the work begun by José de Viera y Clavijo
. At Gran Canaria
, he founded the Jardín Canario (Jardín Botánico Viera y Clavijo) in 1952 near the island's capital. It opened its doors to the public in 1959.
He worked as the garden's director until his death in 1973 in a car accident
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
botanist.
Born in the small town of Skirö
Skirö
Skirö is a small village in Vetlanda Municipality in Sweden. It lies 25 km from the town of Vetlanda in the southeastern part of Jönköping County and has a population of about 300. Situated in a beautiful setting around Lake Skirö, it was dubbed "Smålands trädgård" by Carolus Linnaeus...
, Vetlanda
Vetlanda
Vetlanda is a locality and the seat of Vetlanda Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 12,691 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Vetlanda was still nothing more than a village for several centuries. With the 1840s population boom in Småland, and the industrial revolution winning grounds in Sweden,...
, he studied in various universities across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, he studied at the Marimurta Botanical Garden in Blanes
Blanes
Blanes is a town on the Costa Brava in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The coast of Blanes has 4 km of different kinds of beaches, including the Blanes beach and S'Abanell beach.-Main sights:...
which had been founded in 1920 by Karl Faust. In 1931, he traveled to the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. In 1952, he began working at the Botanical Garden of Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
(Jardín de Aclimatación de la Orotava). He studied and catalogued unclassified Canarian species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
.
Sventenius proposed creating a botanical garden dedicated to Canarian flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
, continuing the work begun by José de Viera y Clavijo
José de Viera y Clavijo
José de Viera y Clavijo , Spanish was an ecclesiastic, historian, botanist, ethnographer, and professor, best known for his exhaustive History of the Canary Islands . Born in Realejo de Arriba, on the island of Tenerife, he was the son of the town's mayor, Gabriel Viera del Álama...
. At Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, he founded the Jardín Canario (Jardín Botánico Viera y Clavijo) in 1952 near the island's capital. It opened its doors to the public in 1959.
He worked as the garden's director until his death in 1973 in a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
.
- The standard botanical author abbreviation Svent. is applied to the speciesSpeciesIn biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
he described.
Works by Sventenius
- Gerhard Benl, Eric R. Sventenius: Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Pteridophyten-Vegetation und-Flora in der Kanarischen Westprovinz (Tenerife, La Palma, Gomera, Hierro) (aus: Nova Hedwigia 20, S. 413-462, 1970), Lehre: Cramer Vlg., 1970
- E. R. Sventenius et D. Bramwell: Acta phytotaxonomica Barcinonensia ; Vol. 7 ; Heywoodiella genus novum, NBarcelona: Dep. de Botánica, Fac. de Ciencias, Univ. Autónoma, 1971
- G. Kunkel y Sventenius: Los Tiles de Moya. Enumeración florística y datos sobre el futuro parque natural, (Cuadernos de Botánica Canaria, 14/15: 71-89), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1972
- Ericus R. Sventenius: Additamentum ad floram Canariensem, Matriti: Agronomiarum investigationem nationale hispanicum Inst. (Instituto nacional de investigaciones agronómicas), 1960
- Plantae macaronesiensis novae vel minus cognitae, in: Index Seminum Horti Acclimatationis Plantarum Arautapensi, 1968
- Ericus R. Sventenius, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias (Hrsg.): Notas sobre la flora de las Cañadas de Tenerife, (Cuaderno/INIA; 78), p. 149-171, Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias, 1946
- Ericus R. Sventenius, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias (España) (Hrsg.): Contribución al conocimiento de la flora canaria,(Cuaderno/INIA; 79), p. 176-194, Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias, 1946
- Ericus R. Sventenius, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias (Hrsg.): Plantas nuevas o poco conocidas de Tenerife, (Cuaderno/INIA; 111), p. 22-33, Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias, 1949
- Ericus R. Sventenius, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias (Hrsg.): Specilegium canariense III, (Cuaderno/INIA; 125), Madrid: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias, Centro de las Islas Canarias, 1950
- "Additamentum ad Floram Canariensem" Svensson Sventenius, Eric R. 1960.