Erik Acharius (10 October 1757 – 14 August 1819) 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 ...

who pioneered the

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s and is known as the "father of

lichenology Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga (or a cyanobacterium) with a Hypha, filamentous fungus. Lichens are chiefly characterized by th ...

". Acharius was famously the last pupil of

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

Life

Acharius was born in 1757 to Johan Eric Acharius and Catharina Margaretha Hagtorn in

Gävle Gävle ( ; ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 79,004 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the List of cities in Sweden, 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. I ...

.Sernander., K. “Erik Acharius - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.” Fredrik Teodor Borg - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon, sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=5503. He received a private education until he was admitted to Gävle Gymnasium in 1770. Later he matriculated at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

in 1773 where he studied natural history and medicine under Linnaeus and was the last student to defend a dissertation before him.Thell, A., Kärnefelt, I., Seaward, M., & Westberg, M. (Eds.) (2013). In the footsteps of Erik Acharius. 20th biennial meeting of the Nordic Lichen Society. Vadstena 11–15 August 2013. Programme and Abstracts. Nordic Lichen Society. Acharius's dissertation titled, ''Planta Aphyteia'', was on a vascular plant species (''

Hydnora ''Hydnora'' is a group of parasitic plants described as a genus in 1775. It is native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Hydnora pollinates through brood-site mimicry. This is a method of pollination in which the plant emits a smel ...

'') collected in Southern Africa by

Carl Peter Thunberg Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg (11 November 1743 – 8 August 1828), was a Sweden, Swedish Natural history, naturalist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus ...

, which Linnaeus incorrectly classified as fungi. Thus he is known as "Carl Linnaeus last disciple" or the last pupil of Linnaeus. After graduating from Uppsala in 1776, he later worked for the Royal Academy of Sciences in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and completed his medical studies 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 1782. He was appointed town medical officer in

Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It bo ...

in 1785, district medical officer in

Östergötland County Östergötland County () is a county or '' län'' in southeastern Sweden. It has land borders with the counties of Kalmar to the southeast, Jönköping to the southwest, Örebro to the northwest, and Södermanland to the northeast. It also has a ...

in 1789, director of the new

Hospital (which he had initiated) in 1795, and titular professor in 1803. As a cartoonist, Acharius Johan illustrated Peter Westring's work ''Svenska lafvarne'' color history (1805) and Carl Peter Thunberg's ''Flora Capensis''. In 1787 Erik Acharius married Helena Dorotea Scholander (1762–1804), the daughter of a trader, in

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

. After Helena's death Acharius married Margareta Maria Hoffberg on 31 December 1804. She was the daughter of Gottfrid Hoffberg who was in charge of production of saltpeter for munitions in

Skänninge Skänninge () is a locality situated in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 3,140 inhabitants in 2010. It lies about 10 km north of the municipal seat Mjölby. Before the local government reform in 1971, the ''City of Sk ...

. In total Erik Acharius had four children, Lars Gustaf Acharius, Jean Torkel Acharius, Catharina Theodora Ohrling (née Acharius) and Charlotta Wilhelmina Acharius. Acharius spent the remainder of his life in Vadstena, where he died of a stroke while in his household garden examining a Spanish collection of lichens on 14 August 1819, at the age of 61.

Work in lichenology

Acharius belonged to the younger generations of Swedish botanists who continued what Linnaeus had left undone; classifying all living organisms. Acharius began the taxonomic classification of '' Lichenes'' and during his lifetime he classified over 3300 species of lichen separated into 40 different genera. At the time of Linnaeus's death all lichens were grouped into a single genus, thus Acharius was the first to expand lichen classification into the multi-divisional group of organisms it is known to be today. His first publication was ''Lichenographiae Suecia prodromus,'' published in 1798, which detailed all known lichen species found in Sweden. This was the first published work to detail lichens using binomial nomenclature and expand their classification beyond a single genus. While composing ''Lichenographiae Suecia prodromus'', Acharius began communicating with

Olof Swartz Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes, but also studied orchids, mosses and lichens. Biography Olof Swartz a ...

, another Linnaean disciple, and from 1780 to 1815 they sent nearly 350 letters to each other. Swartz is believed by many historians to have heavily influenced the development of Acharius's classification system. Additionally, Swartz introduced Acharius to many other Swedish naturalists as also several important international figures such as James Edward Smith, the head of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

. This exposure aided Acharius in spreading his new findings on lichens to an international audience. After publishing his first work, he sent a copy to James Edward Smith who, in response, inducted Acharius as a foreign member of the Linnean Society. Subsequently, Acharius published ''Methodus qua omnes detectos Lichenes'' (1803), ''Lichenographia universalis'' (1810),Acharius, Erik. Lichenographia Universalis: In Qua Lichenes Omnes Detectos, Adiectis Observationibus Et Figuris Horum Vegetabilium Naturam Et Organorum Carpomorphorum Structuram Illustrantibus, Ad Genera, Species. Gottingae: Apud I. F. Danckwerts, 1810. and ''Synopsis methodica lichenum'' (1814)Acharius, Erik. ''Synopsis Methodica Lichenum''. 1814. each of which he sent to the Society in London, accompanied by hundreds of the specimens described in each book. Over his lifetime Acharius collected over 5500 specimens of lichen most of which are housed today in the Botanical Museum of the

Finnish Museum of Natural History The Finnish Museum of Natural History (, ), established in 1988, is a research institution under the University of Helsinki in Finland, based in Helsinki, Finland. It is a natural history museum responsible for the national botanical, zoological, ...

.Laine, Sanna. “Erik Acharius Lichen Collection.” ''GBIF'', Finnish Museum of Natural History , 8 Jan. 2014, www.gbif.org/dataset/6c781d5f-a189-497b-a78d-5c2d7b41cb6a#description. In his influential works, Acharius introduced many lichen-related terminology that remain in common use today. Starting with designating the pits on the underside of ''

Sticta ''Sticta'' is a genus of lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas, and includes about 114 species. These lichens have a leafy appearance, and are colored brown or black. ''Sticta'' ...

'' lichens as in 1794, he added the terms , , , , , and in 1803; in 1810; and in 1817.

Legacy

Acharius's international reputation influence many new lichenologist from all over Europe. In 1804 Friedrich Weber (1781–1823) and

Daniel Matthias Heinrich Mohr Daniel Matthias Heinrich Mohr (8 April 1780, Quickborn – 26 August 1808, Kiel) was a German botanist. As a young botanist from the Duchy of Holstein, he started his career as a pupil of Johan Christian Fabricius at Kiel and Heinrich Adolf Sch ...

(1780–1808), two German naturalists, published ''Naturhistorische Reise durch einen Theil Schwedens'' which heavily featured his work on lichens and also included four illustrations by Acharius. Furthermore,

William Borrer William Borrer ( Henfield, Sussex, 13 June 1781 – 10 January 1862) was an English botanist noted for his extensive and accurate knowledge of the plants of the British Islands. He travelled extensively around Britain to see and collect plants ...

who pioneered lichenology in Britain (and is often called the father of British lichenology) was heavily influence by Acharius's specimens and publications received by the Linnean society in London. These collections and books were studied by Borrer in 1809 and served as the basis for his own work. Additionally

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...

published ''A Monograph of the Genus Cenomyce: Consisting of Coloured Drawings of Each Species and Variety, As Described in the Lichenographia Universalis of Acharius'' in 1815, which contained illustrations of every species and variation of the genus ''Cenomyce'' as described in ''Lichenographia universalis''. To this day several of Acharius's original classification schema are still used in lichen taxonomy. The

International Association for Lichenology The International Association for Lichenology (IAL) is an organisation that encourages the understanding of lichens and lichenology, and promotes their study and conservation worldwide. It unites lichenologists across the globe, as well as nation ...

has named its medal for lifetime achievement in

the

Acharius Medal __NOTOC__ The Acharius Medal is awarded by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) for lifetime achievement in lichenology. The organization resolved at its 1990 meeting that it would simultaneously honor professional achievement and ...

after him. and also in 1992 installed a commemorative plaque on the house in Vadstena where he lived for many years.

Publications and honors

He was a member of the

Royal Physiographic Society in Lund The Royal Physiographic Society in Lund (), is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. It was founded in Lund, on December 2, 1772, and received a Royal Charter by Gustav III, on March 6, 1778.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 ...

(1796), the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

(1801), appointed Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

(1809), and the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala (), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. Early members included Emanuel Swedenborg an ...

(1810). The plant genus '' Acharia'' (in 1794,), several plants species (e.g., ''Rosa acharii'', and (type of lichen), ''Conferva acharii'') and one insect, ''Tortrix achariana'' have all been named after Acharius. The collections of Acharius are distributed over several

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s: the

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, which holds the Botanical Museum in Uppsala, the

Swedish Museum of Natural History The Swedish Museum of Natural History (), in Stockholm, is one of two major museums of natural history in Sweden, the other one being located in Gothenburg. The museum was founded in 1819 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, but goes bac ...

and the Botanical Museum in Lund. His papers are in the Library of Uppsala University. There are also specimens that he collected in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

, London. The following is a list of Erik Acharius's publications: ''Lichenographiae svecicae Prodromus'' (Beginning of a Lichenography of Sweden) 1798 ''Methodus qua omnes detectos Lichenes'' (A Method by which Everyone Can Identify Lichens) 1803Acharius, Erik. Methodus Qua Omnes Detectos Lichenes: Secundum Organa Carpomorpha, Ad Genera, Species Et Varietates. Stockholmiae: impensis F.D.D. Ulrich, typis C.F. Marquard, 1803. ''Lichenographia universalis'' (A Universal Lichenography) 1810 ''Synopsis methodica Lichenum'' (Taxonomical Arrangement of Lichens) 1814

References

*Monika Myrdal
"Erik Acharius, the father of lichenology"
at the website of the Swedish Museum of Natural History. With links to sample images of his publications. *Rutger Sernander: "Acharius, Erik", ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 1, pp. 28–80.

Life

Work in lichenology

Legacy

Publications and honors

See also

References

Further reading