Carl Adolph Agardh (23 January 1785 in

Båstad Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...

, Sweden – 28 January 1859 in

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 67,122 inhabitants in 2020 with 97,233 inhabitan ...

) was a Swedish

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 ...

specializing in

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

, who was eventually appointed

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Biography

In 1807 he was appointed teacher of mathematics at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

, in 1812 appointed professor of botany and natural sciences, and was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

in 1817, and of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

in 1831. He was ordained a clergyman in 1816, received two parishes as

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

, and was a representative in the clerical chamber of the Swedish Parliament on several occasions from 1817. He was

rector magnificus A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world, the rector is often the most senior official in a u ...

of Lund University 1819-1820 and was appointed bishop of Karlstad in 1835, where he remained until his death. He was the father of Jacob Georg Agardh, also a botanist.

System of plant classification

The ''Classes Plantarum'' has nine primary divisions into which his classes and natural orders are grouped. These are, with class numbers; # Acotyledonae 1–3 (

Algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

, Lichenes,

Fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

) # Pseudocotyledonae 4–7 (Muscoideae, Tetradidymae, Filices,

Equisetaceae Equisetaceae, also known as the horsetail family, is a family of ferns and the only surviving family of the order Equisetales, with one surviving genus, ''Equisetum'', comprising about twenty species. Evolution and systematics Equisetaceae is ...

) # Cryptocotyledonae 8–12 (Macropodae, Spadicinae, Glumiflorae, Liliiflorae, Gynandrae) # Phanerocotyledonae incompletae 13–16 (Micranthae, Oleraceae, Epichlamydeae, Columnantherae) # Phanerocotyledonae completae, hypogynae, monopetalae 17 (

Tubiflorae ''Tubiflorae'' is a botanical name, meaning “with tubular flowers”. It was used in the Engler system (and derived systems such as the Wettstein system) for: * an order in the ''Sympetalae''. This order included such families as ''Convolvulac ...

) # Phanerocotyledonae completae, hypogynae, polypetalae 18–22 (Centrisporae, Brevistylae, Polycarpellae, Valvisporae, Columniferae) # Phanerocotyledonae completae, discigynae, monopetalae 23 (Tetraspermae) # Phanerocotyledonae completae, discigynae, polypetalae 24–26 (Gynobaseae, Trihilitae, Hypodicarpae) # Phanerocotyledonae completae, porigynae 27–33 (Subaggregatae, Aridifoliae, Succulentae, Calycanthemae, Peponiferae, Icosandrae,

Leguminosae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

) Each class then contains a number of orders (

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

). For instance, Liliiflorae contains 11 orders; * Liliiflorae ** 43 Asparageae ** 44 Asphodeleae ** 45 Coronariae ** 46 Veratreae ** 47 Commelineae ** 48 Pontedereae ** 49 Dioscorinae ** 50 Haemodoreae ** 51 Irideae ** 52 Narcisseae ** 53

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

Specimens collected by Agardh are cared for in herbaria including the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.56 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known ...

(MEL),

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) are botanical garden, botanic gardens across two sites–Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Melbourne and Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land w ...

Publications

He devoted considerable attention to

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

and as "a leading liberal", he "succeeded in improving and raising the standards of education in Sweden". He also wrote on theological and other subjects, but his reputation chiefly rests on his botanical works, especiall
''Systema algarum''''Species algarum rite cognitae''
and ''Classes plantarum'' on

biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon), and these groups are give ...

, and ''Icones Algarum'' (1824, 1820–28, an
1828–35
. The greatest part of his ''Manual of Botany'' (2 vols., Malmoe, 1829–32) has been translated into German.

List of selected publications

* *
''Algarum decas prima [-quarta
/nowiki> /auctore Carolo Ad. Agardh''">quarta">''Algarum decas prima [-quarta
/nowiki> /auctore Carolo Ad. Agardh''br>''Dispositio algarum Sueciae /cuctore Carolo Adolfo Agardh''

''Caroli A. Agardh Synopsis algarum Scandinaviae : adjecta dispositione universali algarum''

''Adnotationes botanicae'' (with Swartz, Olof, Sprengel, Kurt Polycarp Joachim, and Wikström, Joh. Em)

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agardh, Carl Adolph 1785 births 1859 deaths People from Båstad Municipality 19th-century Swedish botanists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Members of the Swedish Academy Swedish phycologists Swedish pteridologists Swedish mycologists Academic staff of Lund University Swedish taxonomists Bishops of Karlstad