Jens Laurentius Moestue Vahl (27 November 1796 – 12 November 1854) was a Danish

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 ...

and

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

Biography

He was son of the Danish- Norwegian

and

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Martin Vahl Martin Henrichsen Vahl (10 October 1749 – 24 December 1804) was a Denmark-Norway, Danish-Norwegian botanist, herbalist and zoologist. Biography Martin Vahl was born in Bergen, Norway and attended Bergen Cathedral School. He studied botany at ...

(1749-1804). Jens Vahl graduated as a pharmacist in 1819 and then started studying

botany 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 ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. Vahl participated W. A. Graah's expedition to uninhabited areas of East

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

in 1828–1830 with the purpose to search for the lost Eastern Norse Settlement. The expedition - in

umiak The umiak, umialak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac, oomiak, ongiuk, or anyak is a type of open skin boat, used by the Yupik peoples, Yupik and Inuit, and was originally found in all coastal areas from Siberia to Greenland. First used in Thule people, Thule ...

s - was largely unsuccessful, but Vahl's botanical collections extended the previous knowledge much. Financial support from king

Christian VIII of Denmark Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark, Hereditary Prin ...

enabled Vahl to continue his investigations. So he travelled in West

from 1829 to 1836, visiting all the Danish colonies from

Julianehåb Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in southern Greenland and the fourt ...

in the South to

Upernavik Kanunarinaqiniiaaq (known as Upernavik) is a small town in the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland, located on a small island of the same name. With 1,064 inhabitants as of 2024, it is the twelfth-largest town in Greenland. It c ...

in the North. He returned to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1836 with very extensive plant collections, which he later donated to the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. The Vahl collections added several lengths to the previous investigations by

Paul Egede Paul or Poul Hansen Egede (9 September 1708 – 6 June 1789) was a Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian theologian, missionary, and scholar who was principally concerned with the Church of Denmark, Lutheran mission among the Kalaallit people in Green ...

, Morten Wormskjold and others, and effectively laid the foundation of knowledge about the

flora of Greenland The flora of Greenland consists of a total of 583 species or 614 taxa (species and subspecies) of vascular plants, of which 13 are endemic, and 87 taxa introduced by humans, most of which are naturalized. Apiaceae *''Angelica archangelica'' – n ...

. In contrast to his predecessors, Vahl made meticulous notes on the finding circumstances, like exact location and

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of the plants. In 1838–1839, Vahl participated in a French expedition led by

Joseph Paul Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequen ...

(1796–1858) to

Nordkapp North Cape, Northern Cape, or Nordkapp may refer to: Places Norway *North Cape (Norway), a cape at the northernmost part of Magerøya island in Nordkapp Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Nordkapp Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark cou ...

and

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

. In 1840, he was made assistant at the

Botanic 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 ...

. He described many new species, e.g. '' Draba arctica'', but he did not finish the planned

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 ...

before his death. His successor,

Johan Lange Johan Martin Christian Lange (20 March 1818 – 3 April 1898) was a prominent Danish botanist. He held the post of Librarian at the Botanical library of the University of Copenhagen from 1851 to 1858. He was Director of the Botanical Garden ...

, picked up the task two decades later, which resulted in ''Conspectus Florae Groenlandicae'' (1887–1894). Together with Salomon Drejer and

Joakim Frederik Schouw Joakim Frederik Schouw (7 February 1789 – 28 April 1852) was a Danish lawyer, botanist and politician. From 1821, professor in botany at the University of Copenhagen — first extraordinary professor, but after the death of J.W. Hornemann in 1 ...

, Vahl was the publisher of '' Flora Danica'' Fasc. 38. Two plant genera have been named in his honour: * '' Vahlodea''

Fries French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are ''List of culinary knife cuts#Batonnet, batonnet'' or ''Julienning, julienne''-cut deep frying, deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepa ...

(1842) in

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

* ''

Mostuea ''Mostuea'' is one of only three genera of flowering plants belonging to the small family Gelsemiaceae (the other two being '' Gelsemium'' and ''Pteleocarpa''). ''Mostuea'' and ''Gelsemium'' were formerly placed in the family Loganiaceae, while ...

'' Didr. (1853) in

Gelsemiaceae Gelsemiaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the Order (biology), order Gentianales. The family contains only three genera: ''Gelsemium'', ''Mostuea'' and ''Pteleocarpa''. ''Gelsemium'' has three species, one native to Southeast Asi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vahl, Jens 1796 births 1854 deaths 19th-century Danish botanists Botanists active in the Arctic University of Copenhagen alumni