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August Wilhelm Eichler, also known under his Latinized name, Augustus Guilielmus Eichler (22 April 1839 – 2 March 1887), was a German
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
who developed a new system of
classification of plants Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...
to reflect the concept of evolution. His author abbreviation in botany is ''Eichler''.


Biography

Born in Neukirchen, Hesse, Eichler studied at the University of Marburg, Germany, and in 1871 became Professor of
Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
at ''
Technische Hochschule A ''Technische Hochschule'' (, plural: ''Technische Hochschulen'', abbreviated ''TH'') is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ). ...
'' (Technical University) of Graz and director of the botanical garden in that city. In 1872 he received an appointment at the
University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded ...
, where he remained until 1878 when he became director of the herbarium at the
University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
. He died in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
on March 2, 1887, of
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
. Eichler made important contributions to the study of the comparative structure of
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...
s (mainly on
floral symmetry Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...
in his work ''Blütendiagramme''). He wrote extensively on the Coniferae,
Cycadaceae ''Cycas'' is a genus of plants belonging to a very ancient lineage, the Cycadophyta, which are not closely related to palms, ferns, trees or any other modern group of plants. They are evergreen perennials which achieved their maximum diversity i ...
and other plant groups of Brazil.


Eichler System

The
Eichler System A system of plant taxonomy, the Eichler system was the first phylogenetic (phyletic) or evolutionary system. It was developed by August W. Eichler (1839–1887), initially in his ''Blüthendiagramme'' (1875–1878) and then in successive edition ...
divided the plant kingdom into non-floral plants ( Cryptogamae) and floral plants ( Phanerogamae). It was the first to accept the concept of evolution and therefore also the first to be considered
phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...
. Moreover, Eichler was the first taxonomist to separate the Phanerogamae into
Angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants ...
and
Gymnosperms The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, '' Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμν� ...
and the former into Monocotyledonae and Dicotyledonae. The Eichler system was the foundation for Adolf Engler's System and was widely accepted in Europe and other parts of the world.


Works

* *
Volume I: 1875
*
Volume II: 1878
* ''Syllabus der Vorlesungen über Phanerogamenkunde'' Lipsius und Tischer, Kiel 1876. ** Subsequent editions published as ''Syllabus der Vorlesungen über specielle und medicinisch-pharmaceutische Botanik'', 2nd ed. 1880, 3rd ed. 1883, 4th ed. 1886, 5th 1890 *** *** *** *** * ''Flora Brasiliensis'' (Flora of
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
) editor after death of
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduated PhD ...
in 1868 until 1887, succeeded by
Ignatz Urban Ignatz Urban (7 January 1848 – 7 January 1931) 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 show ...
(Available online a
Botanicus.org Website
* ''Beiträge zur Morphologie und Systematik der Marantaceen'' (1884) * ''Zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der Palmenblätter'' (1885)
''Caroli Frid. Phil. Martii Flora Brasiliensis, sive''

''Flora Brasiliensis, enumeratio plantarum in Brasilia hactenus detectarum :quas suis aliorumque botanicorum studiis descriptas et methodo naturali digestas partim icone illustratas /ediderunt Carolus Fridericus Philippus de Martius et Augustus Guilielmus Eichler ; iisque defunctis successor Ignatius Urban ; with Martius, Karl Friedrich Philipp von, 1794-1868, Endlicher, István László, 1804-1849, Fenzl, Eduard, 1808-1879, Mary, Benj, Oldenburg, R.Urban and Ignaz, 1848- ''


See also

*
List of plants of Caatinga vegetation of Brazil This is a list of plants found in the wild in Caatinga vegetation of Brazil. Acanthaceae * '' Anisacanthus'' '' brasiliensis'' Lindau * '' Anisacanthus trilobus'' Lindau * '' Lophostachys'' '' floribunda'' Ness * '' Ruellia'' '' asperula'' B ...
* List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil


Notes

# # #
Author Details: Eichler, August Wilhelm (1839-1887)
International Plant Names Index. #


Bibliography


August Wilhelm Eichler. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''

August Wilhelm Eichler. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Vol. 23, No. 2 (May, 1887 - May, 1888), pp. 355-356
Obituary
History of Taxonomy: 1875-1926

Annals of Botany 1887
Biography and list of publications *


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''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eichler, August 1839 births 1887 deaths 19th-century German botanists Botanists with author abbreviations People from Schwalm-Eder-Kreis