Frederick Traugott Pursh (or Friedrich Traugott Pursch) (February 4, 1774 – July 11, 1820) was a

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–

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

. Born in

Großenhain Großenhain (; also written as Grossenhain; , ) is a Große Kreisstadt (German for major district town) in the district of Meissen, Saxony, Germany. It was originally known as Hayne. The current name simply means "big Hayne". History Großenhain ...

, in the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, under the name Friedrich Traugott Pursh, he was educated at Dresden Botanical Gardens, and emigrated to the

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in 1799. From 1802 to 1805, he worked in

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as the botanical manager of the extensive gardens of William Hamilton, Esq., " The Woodlands." By 1805, he was working for

Benjamin Smith Barton Benjamin Smith Barton (February10, 1766December19, 1815) was an American botanist, naturalist, and physician. He was one of the first professors of natural history in the United States and built the largest collection of botanical specimens in the ...

on a new

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 ...

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, under whom he studied the plants collected on the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

. His work with Barton allowed him to travel farther afield. In 1805, he traveled south from

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to the Carolinas and, in 1806, he traveled north from the mountains of

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. He made both trips principally on foot, with only his dog and a gun, covering over three thousand miles each season. Barton's proposed flora was never written, but Pursh, who then moved to

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, did make a major contribution to North American botany in his ''; or A Systematic Arrangement and Description of The Plants of North America'' (variously dated as published in 1813 or 1814). He then returned to America, moving to

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in 1816. He botanized a great deal in

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, but all the material he accumulated was destroyed by fire before it could be organized into suitable form for publication. His hopes of carrying out further major work were prevented by ill health due to

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. He was so destitute when he died in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

that his funeral expenses had to be defrayed by his friends. His remains lay in the Papineau Road cemetery until 1857, when they were moved to the

Mount Royal Cemetery Mount Royal Cemetery ( French: Cimetière Mont-Royal) is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1852. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, ...

. A proper monument was paid for by subscription. It read as follows: :Frederick Pursh, :Obt. 1820, AEt. 46. :Erected :By Members of the :

Natural History Society Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...

:1878. His name is commemorated in the genus ''

Purshia ''Purshia'' (bitterbrush or cliff-rose) is a small genus of 5–8 species of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae which are native to western North America. Description ''Purshia'' species form deciduous or evergreen shrubs, typically reach ...

'' (bitterbush) and in several species, e.g. ''

Rhamnus purshiana ''Frangula purshiana'' (cascara, cascara buckthorn, cascara sagrada, bearberry, and in the Chinook Jargon, chittem stick and chitticum stick; syn. ''Rhamnus purshiana'') is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is native to western Nor ...

''.

Notes

References

External links

Biography by James L. RevealArticle at "Discovering Lewis & Clark"''Florae Americae Septentrionalis...'' at Botanicus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pursh, Frederick Traugott 1774 births 1820 deaths People from Großenhain People from the Electorate of Saxony 19th-century German botanists Pteridologists Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire Immigrants to the United States American taxonomists Botanists active in North America 19th-century American botanists