Johannes Paulus Lotsy or Jan Paulus Lotsy (11 April 1867 – 17 November 1931) was a Dutch

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 ...

, specializing in

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

and

heredity Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...

. He promoted the idea of evolution being driven by hybridization.

Career

Lotsy was born into a wealthy family in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...

and went to study at the Wageningen Agricultural College where his teachers included

Martinus Beijerinck Martinus Willem Beijerinck (, 16 March 1851 – 1 January 1931) was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist who was one of the founders of virology and environmental microbiology. He is credited with the co-discovery of viruses A virus i ...

and then at the

Göttingen University Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

(1886-1890) where he studied lichens for his doctorate. He then went to

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

(1891–1895) as a lecturer and also served as director of the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

. From 1896 to 1900 he was sent to

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

to work on cinchona research. He returned after suffering from malaria and then taught at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

(1904-1909), as a lecturer in Systematic Botany. He became director of the State Herbarium ( Rijksherbarium) 1906–1909, then Secretary of the Hollandsche Maatschappij van Wetenschappen. Lotsy founded the Association internationale des Botanistes and was editor of the ''Botanisches Centralblatt'' and the ''Progressus rei botanicae''. He proposed a system of plant classification, based on phylogenetics. Lotsy argued for a major role of hybridization in evolution including claims for human evolution. Lotsy died at Voorburg following a surgery.

Travels

India (1895–1900), the United States (1922), Australia and New Zealand (1925), South Africa (1926–27), and Egypt (1930). He also studied the flora of Italy and Switzerland.

Publications

* 1928. ''Voyages of exploration to judge of the bearing of hybridization upon evolution (Genetica : nederlandsch tijdschrift voor erfelijheids- en afstammingsleer)''. Ed. M. Nijhoff * 1922a. ''Van den Atlantischen Oceaan naar de Stille Zuidzee'' * 1922b. ''A popular account of evolution''. The Cawthron institute, Nelson, Nueva Zelanda. Cawthron lecture. Ed. R.W. Stiles & Co. 22 pp. * 1915. ''Het Tegenwoordige Standpunt der Evolutie-leer'' * 1911. ''Série IIIA''. Sciences exactes. 1–4. Rédigées par J. P. Lotsy * 1906a. ''Résultats scientifiques du Congrès international de botanique'', Vienne, 1905. ''Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse des Internationalen botanischen Kongresses'', Wien, 1905 ... Redigiert von J. P. Lotsy ... Mit ... 1 Karte, etc * 1906b. ''Vorlesungen über Deszendenztheorien, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der botanischen Seite der Frage, gehalten an der Reichsuniversität zu Leiden, etc.'' * 1899. ''Rhopalocnemis Phalloides Jungh: A morphological-systematical study''. Ed. E.J. Brill * 1898. ''Contributions to the life-history of the genus Gnetum''. Ed. E.J. Brill * 1894. ''A contribution to the investigation of the assimilation of free atmospheric nitrogen by white and black mustard''. Bulletin / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations. G.P.O. 19 pp.

Books

* 2008. ''Evolution By Means Of Hybridization''. Reeditado Maudsley Press. 176 pp. * 1928. ''A Popular Account of Evolution '' * 1925. ''Evolution considered in the light of Hybridization''. Ed. Canterbury College by Andrews, Baty & Co. 66 pp. * 1916
''Evolution by Means of Hybridization''
The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 166 pp. * 1907–1911. ''Vorträge über botanische Stammesgeschichte gehalten an der Reichsuniversität zu Leiden. Ein Lehrbuch der Pflanzensystematik. In drei Bände''. Jena, Verlag von Gustav Fischer. With illustrations. ** I
Algen und Pilze
(Thallophyta) Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1907. ** II
Cormophyta Zoidogamia Jena: Gustav Fischer, 1909.
** III.

System

Lotsy argued that the monocotyledons were diphyletic, with the Spadiciflorae being derived from the dicotyledons (specifically Piperales) and the remainder from a hypothetical ancestor, the Proranales. Hutchinson, who argued for a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

origin, considered this improbable.

Synopsis

''Vorträge über botanische Stammesgeschichte'' * Volume 3: Cormophyta Siphonogamia Part 1 ** Monocotyledons vol 3(1) p. 514–564, 625–864 *** Spadiciflorae p. 514–564 ****

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

****

Lemnaceae Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose fr ...

**** Cyclanthaceae **** Palmaceae ****

Pandanaceae Pandanaceae is a family of flowering plants native to the tropics and subtropics of the Old World, from West Africa to the Pacific. It contains 982 known species in five genera, of which the type genus, ''Pandanus'', is the most important, with s ...

**** Sparganiaceae **** Typhaceae ****

Alismataceae The water-plantains (Alismataceae) are a family of flowering plants, comprising 20 genera (17 extant and 3 fossil) and 119 species. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the greatest number of species in temperate regions of the Northe ...

**** Butomaceae **** Hydrocharitaceae **** Scheuchzeriaceae **** Zosteraceae **** Posidoniaceae **** Aponogetonaceae **** Potamogetonaceae **** Najadaceae **** Altheniaceae ****

Cymodoceaceae Cymodoceaceae is a family of flowering plants, sometimes known as the "manatee-grass family", which includes only marine species. The 2016 APG IV does recognize Cymodoceaceae and places it in the order Alismatales, in the clade monocots. The ...

**** Triuridaceae *** Enantioblastae p. 693-714 **** Commelinaceae **** Mayacaceae **** Xyridaceae ****

Eriocaulaceae The Eriocaulaceae are a family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the order Poales, commonly known as the pipewort family. The family is large, with about 1207 known species described in seven genera. They are widely distri ...

**** Centrolepidaceae **** Restionaceae ****

Pontederiaceae Pontederiaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants. The APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the APG III system of 2009, the APG II system of 2003 and the APG system of 1998) places the family in the order Commelinales, in the co ...

*** Liliifloren p. 715–766, 792–834 ****

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

714 ****

Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae, also called the bunchflower family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plant, flowering herbaceous perennial plants native to the Northern Hemisphere. Along with many other lilioid monocots, early authors considered member ...

717 ****

Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 4 ...

722 **** Aloinaceae 725 **** Eriospermaceae 730 **** Johnsoniaceae 731 **** Agapanthaceae 732 **** Alliaceae **** Gilliesiaceae 734 **** Tulipaceae 735 **** Scillaceae 741 ****

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

743 **** Dracaenaceae 749 **** Smilaceae 759 **** Luzuriagaceae 760 **** Ophiopogonaceae **** Lomandraceae 761 **** Dasypogonaceae 763 **** Calectasiaceae 764 ****

Juncaceae Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and ...

**** Flagellariaceae 765 **** Stemonaceae (Roxburghiaceae) 792 **** Cyanastraceae 793 ****

Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...

794 ***** Crocoideae ***** Iridoideae 796 ***** Ixioideae 799 **** Haemodoraceae 800 ****

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus '' Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryl ...

801, 811 **** Hypoxidaceae **** Vellosiaceae 802 **** Agavaceae 806 **** Bromeliaceae 814 **** Dioscoreaceae 823 **** Taccaceae 826 **** Burmanniaceen 829 *** Glumifloren p. 767–791 ****

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

**** Graminaceae *** Scitamineae p. 835–864 **** Musaceae **** Cannaceae ****

Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical ...

**** Marantaceae ****

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

** Index p. 952

References

Bibliography

*
Volume 2
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

*
''Nature'' obituary

External links

1867 births 1931 deaths Scientists from Dordrecht 19th-century Dutch botanists 20th-century Dutch botanists Academic staff of Leiden University {{netherlands-botanist-stub