Prenzlau
Prenzlau (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region.
Geography
The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Berlin. ...
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 specialized in tropical flora research.
From 1895 he studied theology and botany at the
University of Breslau
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
, where in 1901/02 he worked as an assistant at the
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. is ...
. Afterwards, he worked at the Botanical Museum in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and at the botanic garden in Victoria, Kamerun. In 1921 he became an associate professor of
phytogeography
Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution ...
at the University of Breslau, where in 1927 he attained a full professorship.
In 1905, botanist
Adolf Engler
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 K ...
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s from Cameroon, belonging to the family
Podostemaceae
Podostemaceae (riverweed family), a family in the order Malpighiales, comprise about 50 genera and species of more or less thalloid aquatic herbs.
Distribution and habitat
They are found mostly in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide ...
. It was named in Hubert Winkler's honor.
In 1908 he conducted botanical studies in the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...
and the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
, where he also collected
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...
plants and seed for importation to German colonies. In 1910 he carried out botanical investigations in
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
Betulaceae
Betulaceae, the birch family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams, hazel-hornbeam, and hop-hornbeams, numbering a total of 167 species. They are mostly natives of ...
in
Adolf Engler
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 K ...
'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 of the sections on
Musaceae
Musaceae is a family of flowering plants composed of three genera with about 91 known species, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves w ...
and
Cannaceae
''Canna'' or canna lily is a genus of flowering plants consisting of 10 species. It is the only genus in the family Cannaceae.The Cannaceae of the World, H. Maas-van der Kamer & P.J.M. Maas, BLUMEA 53: 247–318 All of the genus's species a ...
in Engler and Prantl's '' Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien''. Other writings by Winkler include:
* ''Pflanzengeographische Studien über die Formation des Buchenwaldes'', 1901 – Phytogeographical studies on the formation of
beech forest
Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...
s.
* ''Beiträge zur Morphologie und Biologie tropischer Blüten und Früchte'', 1906 – Contributions to the morphology and biology of tropical flowers and fruits.
* ''Eine akademische Studienfahrt nach Ostafrika'' (with
Carl Zimmer
Carl Zimmer (born 1966) is an American popular science writer, blogger, columnist, and journalist who specializes in the topics of evolution, parasites, and heredity. The author of many books, he contributes science essays to publications such ...
, 1912) – An academic study excursion to East Africa.
* ''Botanisches Hilfsbuch für Pflanzer, Kolonialbeamte, Tropenkaufleute und Forschungsreisende'', 1912 – Botanical guide for planters, colonial officers, tropical merchants and explorers.
* ''Entwicklungsgeschichte der Pflanzenwelt. Pflanzengeographie. Die Pflanzenwelt der Tropen'', 1913 (with Walther Gothan,