Franz Josef Niedenzu (29 November 1857 – 30 September 1937) was a German botanist born in Köppernig. He is remembered for his work with the botanical family

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New Worl ...

. For most of his career he was a professor and subsequently

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at the ''Lyceum Hosianum'' in

Braunsberg Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capit ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

(presently

Braniewo Braniewo () (german: Braunsberg in Ostpreußen, la, Brunsberga, Old Prussian: ''Brus'', lt, Prūsa), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital ...

, Poland). At Braunsberg, he established a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

. He was author of the chapter on Malpighiaceae in Adolf Engler's "''

Das Pflanzenreich Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

''", and contributed descriptions of nine plant families in Engler and Prantl's "'' Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien''". He identified numerous new species, as well as six genera; ''Alcoceratothrix'' (now ''

Byrsonima ''Byrsonima'' is one of about 75 genera in the Malpighiaceae, a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. In particular in American English, they are known as locustberries (which also may refer specifically to '' Byrsonima coccolo ...

''), ''Callyntranthele'' (now ''

Blepharandra ''Blepharandra'' is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family (biology), family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. ''Blepharandra'' comprises 6 species of trees and shrubs native to sandy savannas and scrub forests of ...

''), ''

Cordobia ''Cordobia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics an ...

'', ''Diaspis'' (now ''

Caucanthus ''Caucanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malpighiaceae. Its native range is Tropical Africa, Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , ...

''), ''

Malpighiodes ''Malpighiodes'' is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. ''Malpighiodes'' comprises 4 species of woody vines native to northern South America. They are found in northern Brazil, ...

'', and ''Sprucina'' (now ''

Jubelina ''Jubelina'' is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. ''Jubelina'' comprises 6 species of woody vines occurring in tropical wet primary and secondary forests of Central America ...

''). In 2006, botanist W.R.Anderson published ''

Niedenzuella ''Niedenzuella'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malpighiaceae. Its native range is Southern Tropical America. It is found in the countries of north-eastern Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French ...

'', 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 from South America, belonging to the family

and named in his honour.

References

Biography & Photo; Franz Joseph Niedenzu
@ Malpighiaceae - Literature 1857 births 1937 deaths People from Nysa County People from the Province of Silesia 19th-century German botanists 20th-century German botanists {{Germany-botanist-stub