Luis Sodiro (1836–1909) was an Italian Jesuit priest and a field
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 ...
from
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...
who described a large number of species from the area around
Quito, Ecuador
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
in the early 20th century. He was perhaps the first person who collected in this region and he described at least 38 species from
Esmeraldas, a region in Ecuador.
Biography
He was born in Italy in 1836, in the town of Vicenza in the province of
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. When he was twenty years old, in 1856, he entered the Order of the
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
, and went to study
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
at the
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
, Austria. He also studied philosophy, languages and natural sciences. He was one of the first botanists to truly collect and identify specimens in the field.
He is one of the protagonists of the ''Golden age of Ecuadorian botany'' which started in 1870 when Ecuadorian
Ecuadorian President and aristocrat
Gabriel García Moreno
Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García Moreno y Morán de Butrón (24 December 1821 – 6 August 1875), was an Ecuadorian politician and aristocrat who twice served as President of Ecuador (1861–65 and 1869–75) and was assassinated ...
brought members of 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 ...
Jesuits Order to manage the
National Polytechnic School and the
Quito Astronomical Observatory in Quito. The group consisted of naturalist
Theodor Wolf
Franz Theodor Wolf (February 13, 1841 – June 22, 1924) was a German naturalist who studied the Galápagos Islands during the late nineteenth century. Wolf Island (Wenman Island) is named after him. The peak Volcán Wolf on Isabela Island (Gal ...
, astronomer
Juan Bautista Menten, architect José Kolberg, José Epping, chemist Luis Dressel and botanist Luis Sodiro. Sodiro taught courses at the school as well as in the
Central University in Quito and where he replaced
Professor Jameson.
His botanical work was based on the collection of plant specimens from throughout Ecuador but with special emphasis on the surroundings of Quito including those on mountain peaks such as
Corazón and
Pichincha.
Carried out over thirty-eight years. The results of his findings were published in monographs, booklet catalogs, and articles. It followed the botanic classification established by
A. P. de Candolle in his work ''
Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis''. He had collected many specimens and then sent them to
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
to be later recorded and described by English botanist
J. G. Baker.
During his career, he gifted a total of 4226 specimens to the Central University of Ecuador. He also donated his
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 ...
to
St. Gabriel College, Quito, which was later concentrated in the
Ecuadorian Library Aurelio Espinosa Polit (QPLS). There are approximately 20,000 specimens of which approximately 13,500 have been preserved to date.
[
His life suddenly changed after the murder of President García Moreno in 1876, as the Polytechnic School closed its doors. President Antonio Borrero he had offered to continue with the university but the revolution started by ]Ignacio de Veintemilla
Mario Ignacio Francisco Tomás Antonio de Veintemilla y Villacís (31 July 1828 – 19 July 1908) was President of Ecuador 18 December 1876 to 9 July 1883. During his presidency, his niece Marieta de Veintemilla
Marieta de Veintimilla Marcon ...
prevented it. Then Sodiro went to live in the Jesuit school in Pifo, as Professor of Humanities. He was very intelligent and had a prodigious memory. He knew great excerpts from Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
and Horacio so he also stood among his fellow teaching staff.
In 1883, he wrote a book, ''Recensio Crytogamarum Vascularium Quitensium''.
He also wrote in 1890-1893, ''Cryptogamae Vasculares Quitenses Adiectis Speciebus in Aliis Provinciis Ditionis Ecudorensis Hactenus Detectis'' which described all known ''Pteridophyte'' (Ferns
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
) in the area.
He became the first director of the Quito Botanical Garden in 1889, which was founded by her personal friend Marieta de Veintimilla wife of the President, Ignacio de Veintimilla.
President José María Plácido Caamano named him the "Botanist of the Nation" in order to honor his scientific and humanistic work, especially in botany through the books and his publications. Luis was always philanthropic and voluntarily helped beekeepers in that country.
Manuel María Pólit asked him to review ''Historia del Reino de Quito'', written by Juan de Velasco
Juan de Velasco y Pérez Petroche (1727–1792) was an 18th-century Jesuit priest, historian, and professor of philosophy and theology from the Royal Audience of Quito. He was born in Riobamba to Juan de Velasco y López de Moncayo and to M ...
(1727–1792) in order to identify and classify the plants and animals that Velasco had included in his work. Unfortunately due to his health, Sodiro failed to finish his review.
His botanical knowledge was recognized and he published in scientific journals such as the ''Botanische Jahrbucher fur Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Planzengeograpie'' in Germany. He also published in the Chilean Journal of Natural History.
Selected publications
Include;
* Notes on the Ecuadorian vegetation. Quito 1874.
* ''Recensio Cryptogamae Vasculares Quitenses'' 1883.
* Relationship on the eruption of Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi () is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located near Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador (after Chim ...
occurred on June 26, 1877 - Quito: Impr. national, 1877
* In the bulletin of the Quito Astronomical Observatory, 1879.
* Ecuadorian grasses in the province of Quito - Annals of the University of Quito, 1880
* Reflections on Ecuadorian agriculture - Quito: Imp. of the Government, 1883
* ''Contribuciones al conocimiento de la flora ecuatoriana'' (translated - Contributions to the knowledge of Ecuadorian flora); Monographia II. Ecuadorian anturios - Quito: Tip. of the School of Arts and Crafts, 1903
Honours
He is honoured in the name of around 297 species records including;
*(Alstroemeriaceae) '' Bomarea sodiroana''
*(Annonaceae) '' Guatteria sodiroi''
*(Apiaceae) '' Bowlesia sodiroana''
*(Araceae) '' Philodendron sodiroi''
*(Araliaceae) '' Oreopanax sodiroi''
*(Arecaceae) '' Geonoma sodiroi''
*(Asclepiadaceae) '' Scyphostelma sodiroi''
*(Aspleniaceae) '' Asplenium sodiroi''
*(Asteraceae) '' Acmella sodiroi''
*(Asteraceae) '' Aldama sodiroi''
*(Begoniaceae) '' Semibegoniella sodiroi''
*(Campanulaceae) '' Burmeistera sodiroana''
*(Ericaceae) '' Sphyrospermum sodiroi''
*(Fabaceae) '' Nephromeria sodiroana''
*(Grammitidaceae) '' Grammitis sodiroi''
*(Marcgraviaceae) ''Marcgraviastrum sodiroi
''Marcgraviastrum sodiroi'' is a species of plant in the Marcgraviaceae family endemic to Colombia and Ecuador.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
It was fi ...
''
*(Myrsinaceae) '' Cybianthus sodiroanus''
*(Orchidaceae) '' Elleanthus sodiroi'' Schltr. Schltr.
*(Woodsiaceae) '' Diplazium sodiroanum''
The volume of new species he identified, is large: there are about 1019 names published by Sodiro in IPNI
The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It in ...
on newly discovered species, which he usually published in ''Annals Univ. Centr. Ecuador'', ''Sert. Fl. Ecuad.'', Rec., ''Chilean Hist Magazine. Nat.'', ''Crypt. Vasc. Quit.Anal. Univ. Quito'' and ''Anthurios Equator''.
References
External links
History and Current Status of Systematic Research with Araceae
International Aroid Society; retrieved 28 December 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodiro, Luis
19th-century Italian Jesuits
Botanists active in South America
1836 births
1909 deaths
20th-century Italian Jesuits
University of Innsbruck alumni
People from Vicenza
Italian emigrants to Ecuador