Alwin Berger (28 August 1871 – 20 April 1931) was a German

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 ...

best known for his contribution to the nomenclature of

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

plants, particularly

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...

s and cacti. Born in Germany he worked at the

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

s in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. From 1897 to 1914, he was curator of the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, the

s of Sir

Thomas Hanbury Sir Thomas Hanbury (21 June 18329 March 1907) was an English businessman, gardener and philanthropist. He built the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, or Hanbury botanical gardens, at Mortola Inferiore, between Ventimiglia and Menton, on the coast of ...

La Mortola Mortola Inferiore, often known as La Mortola, is a frazione of the comune of Ventimiglia, in the province of Imperia, in Liguria, Italy. It lies on the road from Ventimiglia to the French border. It is home to the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, o ...

, near

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; , ; ; ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located west of Genoa, and from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia river, w ...

in northwestern Italy, close to the border with France. After working in Germany from 1914 to 1919, Berger studied in the United States for three years, before spending his final years as director of the department of botany of the natural history museum in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

His main work, ''Die Agaven'', published in 1915, described 274 species of agave, divided into 3 subgenera, '' Littaea'', '' Euagave'' and '' Manfreda''. He also recognised a new genus of cactus, '' Roseocactus'', in 1925. The

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

'' Bergerocactus'' (''

Cactaceae A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

'') and '' Bergeranthus'' ('' Mesembryanthemaceae'') are named in his honour.

Publications

The principal publications of Alwin Berger include: * ''Systematische Übersicht der kultivierten Kleinien''. Neudamm: Neumann, 1904/5.
''Florula Mortolensis. An enumeration of the plants growing wild at La Mortola''
Ventimiglia: Billi, 1905. * ''Proposed congratulatory address to Sir Thomas Hanbury ... of la Mortola, Ventimiglia : prepared for the celebration of his Seventy-fifth birthday, 21st June 1907''. .l. .n. 1907. * ''Sukkulente Euphorbien. Beschreibung und Anleitung zum bestimmen der kultivierten Arten, mit kurzen Angaben über die Kultur''. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, 1907.
''Mesembrianthemen und Portulacaceen. Beschreibung und Anleitung zum Bestimmen der wichtigsten Arten, mit kurzen Angaben über die Kultur''
Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, 1908.
''Liliaceae - Asphodeloideae - Aloineae : Mit 817 Einzelbildern in 141 Figuren und 1 Tafel''
In: Adolf Engler, ''Das Pflanzenreich, regni vegetabilis conspectus'' IV 38 III. ii. Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, 1908. * ''Einige neue afrikanische Sukkulenten''. Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1910. * ''Stapelieen und Kleinien, einschliesslich einiger anderer Verwandter Sukkulenten. Beschreibung und Anleitung zum bestimmen der wichtigen Arten mit kurzer Angabe über die Kultur''. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, 1910. *
''Hortus Mortolensis : enumeratio plantarum in horto Mortolensi cultarum: Alphabetical catalogue of plants growing in the garden of the late Sir T. Hanbury at La Mortola, Ventimiglia, Italy''
London: West, Newman, 1912.
''Die Agaven: Beiträge zu einer Monographie''
Jena: Verlag von Gustav Fischer, 1915. * ''A Taxonomic Review of Currants and Gooseberries''. Genova; N.Y., 1924. * ''Die Entwicklungslinien der Kakteen''. Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1926. * ''Eine neue Aristolochia aus Bolivien''. Stuttgart: Württ. Naturaliensammlung, 1927. * ''Kakteen, Anleitung zur Kultur und Kenntnis der wichtigsten eingeführten Arten''. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, 1929. * ''Crassulaceae''. Leipzig, 1930.

References

External links

Photo of Alwin Berger
from Genus ''Escobaria'' etc.

(in Italian)
Die Agaven (1915)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Alwin 1871 births 1931 deaths 20th-century German botanists People from Schleiz