Joseph Pohl (1864–1939) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

botanical artist Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...

born in Breslau (now Wrocław,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). Apprenticed as an engraver, Pohl collaborated with

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 ...

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 ...

(1844–1930) for over forty years on several of Engler's important works. Pohl's work is acclaimed for its accuracy and not its artistic quality. His illustrations are considered especially valuable due to destruction of many of the actual plants midst the bombing of the

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 ...

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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The following are a list of Engler's major publications that Pohl provided illustrations for: * ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (1887–1909) * ''Das Pflanzenreich'' (1900 et seq.) * ''Die Pflanzenwelt Afrikas'' (1908–10) * ''Monographien afrikanischer Pflanzenfamilien'' (1898–1904) He also provided most of the illustrations for the journal ''Engler's Botanische Jahrbücher'', and created

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

illustrations for

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botany, botanist and explorer. Between 1817 and 1820, he travelled 10,000 km through Brazil while collecting botanical specimens. His m ...

' ''

Flora Brasiliensis ''Flora Brasiliensis'' is a book published between 1840 and 1906 by the editors Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, August Wilhelm Eichler, Ignatz Urban and many others. It contains taxonomic treatments of 22,767 species, mostly Brazilian angiosper ...

''. Engler named the botanical genus ''Pohliella'' from 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 ...

in Pohl's honor.

References

The art of botanical illustration: an illustrated history
by Wilfrid Blunt and William Thomas Stearn German botanical illustrators Artists from Wrocław 1864 births 1939 deaths Artists from the Province of Silesia 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters {{Germany-artist-stub