Johann Jacob Dillen Dillenius (1684 – 2 April 1747) was a German botanist. He is known for his ''Hortus Elthamensis'' ("Eltham Garden") on the rare plants around Eltham, London, and for his ''Historia muscorum'' ("History of Mosses"), a natural history of lower plants including

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

es,

liverwort The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ...

hornwort Hornworts are a group of non-vascular Embryophytes (land plants) constituting the division Anthocerotophyta (). The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporophyte. As in mosses and liverworts, hornworts have a ...

s, lycopods,

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from ...

, lichens and

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

Biography

Dillenius was born at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

and was educated at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von ...

, earlier the family name had been changed from Dillen to Dillenius. In 1721, at the instance of the botanist

William Sherard William Sherard (27 February 1659 – 11 August 1728) was an English botanist. Next to John Ray, he was considered to be one of the outstanding English botanists of his day. Life He is still a little-known figure of that era coming as he did fro ...

(1659–1728), he moved to England. In 1734 Dillenius was appointed Sherardian professor of botany at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, in accordance with the will of Sherard, who at his death in 1728 left the university £3000 for the endowment of the chair, as well as his library and

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...

, all on the condition that Dillenius should be appointed the first professor. Dillenius died at Oxford, of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleed ...

. His manuscripts, books and collections of dried plants, with many drawings, were bought by his successor at Oxford, Dr. Humphry Sibthorp (1713–1797), and ultimately passed into the possession of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. For an account of his collections preserved at Oxford, see ''The Dillenian Herbaria'', by G. Claridge Druce (Oxford, 1907).

Work

At Giessen Dillenius wrote botanical papers for the ''Ephemerides naturae curiosorum''. He printed, in 1719, his ''

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

'' of the university's surroundings, a ''Catalogus plantarum sponte circa Gissam nascentium'', illustrated with figures he had personally drawn and engraved, with descriptions of several new species. In 1724 Dillenius published the third edition of

John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...

's ''Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannicarum''. It incorporated plant species discovered by Samuel Brewer, and work on mosses by

Adam Buddle Adam Buddle (1662–1715) was an English cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their ...

. It remained a standard reference for British botanists until the appearance of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

's ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

'' in 1761.

''Hortus Elthamensis''

In 1732 he published ''Hortus Elthamensis'', a substantial catalogue in two volumes of some 400 plants growing at Eltham, London, in the collection of Sherard's younger brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1666—1738), who, after making a fortune as an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

, devoted himself to gardening and music. For this work Dillenius himself drew and engraved 324 plates, containing 417 figures of the plants. The title called the plants "rare", but the botanist Will Tjaden comments that they were "often only uncommon and not always of very recent introduction." The book was described by Linnaeus, who spent a month with him at

in 1736, and afterwards dedicated his ''

Critica Botanica ''Critica Botanica'' ("Critique of botany", Leiden, July 1737) was written by Swedish botanist, physician, zoologist and naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). The book was published in Germany when Linnaeus was 29 with a discursus by the botan ...

'' to him, as ''opus botanicum quo absolutius mundus non vidit'', "a botanical work of which the world has not seen one more authoritative". Linnaeus later named a genus of tropical tree ''

Dillenia ''Dillenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Australasia, and the Indian Ocean islands. The genus is named after the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius, ...

'' in his honour. File:Hortus Elthamensis titlepage.jpg, thumb , Title page of ''Hortus Elthamensis'', 1732 File:P inquinans Dillenius.jpg, '' Pelargonium inquinans''

''Historia muscorum''

Dillenius wrote ''Historia muscorum'' (1741), a natural history of lower plants including

es,

s, lycopods,

, lichens and

. He acknowledged the help of George Charles Deering. They had met at

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

's club for botanists, and had studied

together. Historia muscorum 0 title page.jpg, Title page, 1768 edition Historia muscorum plate 6 Conserva.jpg, 6 Conserva Historia muscorum plate 8 Tremella.jpg, 8 Tremella Historia muscorum plate 11 Usnea.jpg, 11

Usnea ''Usnea'' is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini- shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, The genus is in t ...

(beard lichens) Historia muscorum plate 14 Coralloides.jpg, 14 Coralloides ( cup lichens) Historia muscorum plate 18 Lichenoides.jpg, 18 Lichenoides (

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichens consists of a cor ...

s) Historia muscorum plate 32 Sphagnum.jpg, 32

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

(bog moss) Historia muscorum plate 38 Hypnum.jpg, 38 Hypnum Historia muscorum plate 46 Bryum.jpg, 46

Bryum ''Bryum'' is a genus of mosses in the family Bryaceae. It was considered the largest genus of mosses, in terms of the number of species (over 1000), until it was split into three separate genera in a 2005 publication. As of 2013, the classificati ...

Historia muscorum plate 56 Selago.jpg, 56 Selago Historia muscorum plate 59 Lycopodium.jpg, 59

Lycopodium ''Lycopodium'' (from Greek ''lykos'', wolf and ''podion'', diminutive of ''pous'', foot) is a genus of clubmosses, also known as ground pines or creeping cedars, in the family Lycopodiaceae. Two very different circumscriptions of the genus are ...

Historia muscorum plate 76 Lichen (liverworts).jpg, 76 Lichen (

liverworts The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

) Historia muscorum plate 79 Pilularia.jpg, 79 Pilularia File:Historia muscorum plate 80 Calamaria.jpg, 80 Calamaria Historia muscorum plate 81 Subularia.jpg, 81

Subularia ''Subularia'' is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. ''Subularia'' species are annual herbs that grow in moist or even flooded soils. There are only two species of the genus: ''Subularia aquatica'', which is widespread in North America ...

Honours

In 1753,

in his ''Species Plantarum'' published ''

'', a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the family

Dilleniaceae Dilleniaceae is a family of flowering plants with 11 genera and about 430 known species. Such a family has been universally recognized by taxonomists. It is known to gardeners for the genus '' Hibbertia'', which contains many commercially valuab ...

, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecolo ...

, and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

islands, both genus and family named in Dillenius's honour. In 1997, the Spanish botanist Gerardo Antonio Aymard Corredor published '' Neodillenia'', a genus of

s from South America belonging to the family

, named in Dillenius's honour.

Selected publications

* *
also
on Gallica * *
Facsimile edition 1973
Ray Society, London. With introduction by William T. Stearn. *

References

Bibliography

Illustrations from Johann Jacob Dillenius ''Hortus Elthamensis'' 1732

Dictionary of Scientific Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillenius, Johann Jacob 1687 births 1747 deaths Bryologists German bryologists Pteridologists German pteridologists Botanists with author abbreviations 18th-century German botanists German mycologists Fellows of the Royal Society 18th-century German people 18th-century German scientists Sherardian Professors of Botany