Christian Luerssen (6 May 1843,

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

– 28 June 1916) was a German botanist. He was an authority in the field of pteridology. In 1872, at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, he graduated as a university teacher of botany, and was later appointed professor of botany at the Forest Academy at Neustadt-Eberswalde (1884). From 1888, he served as a professor at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

. After his death, a portion of his botanical collection (including European

pteridophyte A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as " cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

s) was donated by Otto Bjurling to the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Luerssen was the taxonomic authority of the family Sciadopityaceae (1877). He has a number of plant species named after him, such as ''Koeleria luerssenii'' (grass species) and ''Cassia luerssenii'' (family Fabaceae).

Written works

* ''Filices Graeffeanae. Beitrag zur kenntniss der farnflora der Viti-, Samoa-, Tonga- und Ellice's inseln'', 1871 - Contribution to the knowledge of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except ...

s of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australia ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and the Ellice Islands. * ''Grundzüge der Botanik'' (11 editions between 1877 and 1893) - Basics of botany. * ''Die Farnpflanzen, oder, Gefassbündelkryptogamen (Pteridophyta)'' - Ferns, or vascular-bundle cryptogams (

Pteridophyta A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

). * ''Handbuch der systematischen botanik, mit besonderer berücksichtigung der arzneipflanzen''. Volume 1, 1879 - Manual of plant systematics, with special consideration to

medicinal plants Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ...

. * ''Die Pflanzen der Pharmacopoea germanica botanisch erläutert'', 1883 - Plants of the

Pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography ''pharmacopœia'', meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by ...

Germanica botanical explained. * ''Die einführung japanischer waldbäume in die deutschen forsten'', 1885 - Introduction of Japanese forest trees into German forests.WorldCat Identities
(list of publications)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luerssen, Christian 1843 births 1916 deaths 19th-century German botanists Pteridologists Scientists from Bremen University of Königsberg faculty