Siegfried Jost Casper (12 January 1929 – 13 June 2021) was a German

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

whose primary research was in

limnology Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, ...

and the plant genus ''

Pinguicula ''Pinguicula'', commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they ...

'' (the

butterwort ''Pinguicula'', commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they ...

s). Together with Heinz-Dieter Krausch he published a basic reference work on the freshwater

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 ...

of central

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. For many years he studied the East German lake Stechlinsee as well as the river

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

. In 1966 he published a monograph of the genus ''Pinguicula'', a work that is still in use today. He described at least 14 new species, most recently '' Pinguicula lippoldii'' and '' Pinguicula toldensis'' in 2007.Casper, S.J. 2007. ''Pinguicula lippoldii'' nova spec. and ''Pinguicula toldensis'' nova spec. – two endemic ''Pinguicula'' species (Lentibulariaceae) from East Cuba new to science. ''Wulfenia'' 14: 75–96. He served as head of the Botanical Garden of the

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

and from 1990 until his death was a member of the "Akademie Gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften" in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

Publications

* ''Monographie der Gattung ''Pinguicula'' L.'', (Bibliotheca Botanica, Heft 127/128), 1966, Stuttgart

References

1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century German botanists People from Erzgebirgskreis {{germany-botanist-stub