Dr Maarten Joost Maria Christenhusz (born 27 April 1976) is a Dutch

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, natural historian and photographer.

Career

He was born in

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, received his undergraduate and master's degrees from

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, and earned his PhD from the

University of Turku The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 2007. He is an authority on

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( ; ) are a group of woody, perennial Seed plant, seed-producing plants, typically lacking the protective outer covering which surrounds the seeds in flowering plants, that include Pinophyta, conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetoph ...

and

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

, and is a compiler of the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disc ...

(compiler of APG IV). He has specialised in Marattiaceae and he described many species of '' Danaea'', including '' Danaea kalevala'' from the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

. A species of

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

, '' Dorstenia christenhuszii'' was named in honour of its discoverer. He wrote several books and over 200 academic articles on a variety of ''natural history'' subjects. He was editor for the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

until 2023. He lives in

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, UK. He is the former chief editor and initiator of the botanical journal ''

Phytotaxa ''Phytotaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for rapid publication on any aspect of systematic botany. It publishes on a wide range of subjects, but focuses on new species, monographs, floras, revisions, reviews, and typification issues. ...

'', an associate editor of the '' Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' and emeritus chief editor of the ''

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering zoology published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Linnean Society. The editor-in-chief is Maarten Christenhusz (Linnean Society) ...

''. He has an interest in

island biogeography Insular biogeography or island biogeography is a field within biogeography that examines the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities. The theory was originally developed to explain the pattern ...

, botanical gardens, floristic treatments,

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

. He works as a botanical consultant. He is the lead author (together with Michael F. Fay and Mark W. Chase) of an encyclopedia of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified tissue ( ...

called '' Plants of the World''.

Honours

* President emeritus of the International Association of Pteridologists (2009–2019)

Selected bibliography

* APG IV (2016) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV. ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 181(1): 1–20. * M. Christenhusz & R. Govaerts (2023) ''Uitgestorven: op plantenjacht rond de wereld''. Sterck & De Vreese. . * M. J. M. Christenhusz, M. F. Fay & M. W. Chase (2017) ''Plants of the World: an illustrated encyclopedia of vascular plant families''. Kew Publishing/Chicago University Press. * M. W. Chase, M. J. M. Christenhusz & T. Mirenda (2017) ''The Book of Orchids''. Ivy Press/Chicago University Press, . * M. J. M. Christenhusz & J. W. Byng (2016) The number of known plant species in the world and its annual increase. ''Phytotaxa'' 261(3): 201–217. * S. Zona & M. J. M. Christenhusz (2015) Litter-trapping plants: filter-feeders of the plant kingdom. ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' 179(4): 554–586. * M. J. M. Christenhusz, S. Brockington, A. Christin, & R. Sage (2014) On the disintegration of Molluginaceae: a new genus and family (''Kewa'', Kewaceae) segregated from ''Hypertelis'', and placement of ''Macarthuria'' in Macarthuriaceae. ''Phytotaxa'' 181(4): 238–242. * M. J. M. Christenhusz & M. W. Chase (2014) Trends and concepts in fern classification. ''Annals of Botany'' 113(4): 571–594.

References

External links

Information from the University of HelsinkiMaarten Christenhusz
on

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...

for botanical consultancy services.

for personal blog 1976 births Living people 21st-century Dutch botanists Utrecht University alumni University of Turku alumni People from Enschede Dutch pteridologists 21st-century British scientists Botanists active in Kew Gardens British botanists British LGBTQ scientists Gay academics Gay scientists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London {{Netherlands-botanist-stub

Career

Honours

Selected bibliography

See also

References

External links