Edmund August Friedrich Russow (; – ) was a

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biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Academic career

The son of a military engineer, Edmund Russow studied at the Universities of

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

(now Tartu,

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Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

) and

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. In 1867, he became an associate professor at Dorpat, where from 1874 to 1897, he served as a full professor. In 1895-97, he was president of the

Estonian Naturalists' Society Estonian Naturalists' Society (, ELUS) is the oldest Estonia-based society of naturalists. It was founded in 1853, and since establishing has been the major scientific organisation focusing on natural history of Estonia. The society is based in ...

. Russow was at the forefront of

nature conservation Nature conservation is the ethic/moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values ...

, and associated with the work of Hugo Conwentz (1865-1922), a founder of nature conservation efforts throughout Europe.

Botanical work

Russow was an authority on

Sphagnaceae The Sphagnaceae is a family of moss with only one living genus ''Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also so ...

(

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

) and remembered for his research in

plant anatomy Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal Anatomy, structure of plants. Originally, it included plant morphology, the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, but since the mid-20th centu ...

and

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...

, in particular studies of the plant family

Marsileaceae Marsileaceae () is a small family of heterosporous aquatic and semi-aquatic ferns, though at first sight they do not physically resemble other ferns. The group is commonly known as the "pepperwort family" or as the "water-clover family" becau ...

(aquatic and semi-aquatic

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 ...

s). The plant genus ''

Russowia ''Russowia'' is a genus of Asian flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae. The only known species is ''Russowia sogdiana'', native to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenista ...

'' is named in his honor, as is ''Sphagnum russowii'' (

Russow's sphagnum ''Sphagnum russowii'', Russow's sphagnum or Russow's bogmoss, is a species of peat moss with a Boreal Kingdom, Holarctic distribution. References External links''Sphagnum russowii''
@ Moss Flora of China Sphagnum, russowii {{moss-stub ...

Written works

* '' Histologie und Entwicklungsgeschichte der Sporenfrucht von Marsilia''. Dissertation. Dorpat (1871)
''Entwickelungsgeschichte der Sporenfrucht von Marsilia''
(1873). In: ''Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg'', série VII, tome XIX, p. 42
''Vergleichende Untersuchungen betreffend die Histiologie … der leitbundel Kryptogamen''
In: ''Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg'', 1872 * ''Betrachtungen über das leitbundel- und grundgewebe aus vergleichend morphologischem und phylogenetischem geschichtspunkt'' (1875).
Open Library, authors

References

* "Biographical information based on an equivalent article at the

Estonian Wikipedia The Estonian Wikipedia () is the Estonian version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, started on 24 August 2002. As of , it has articles and is the -largest Wikipedia. On 7 December 2008 Estonian Wikipedian Andres Luure was one of fifteen ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russow, Edmund 1841 births 1897 deaths Scientists from Tallinn People from Kreis Harrien Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire 19th-century botanists from the Russian Empire Academic staff of the University of Tartu Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Burials at Raadi cemetery