Otto Wilhelm Sonder (18 June 1812,

Bad Oldesloe Bad Oldesloe () is a town located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is the capital of the district of Stormarn. The area has been inhabited since Mesolithic times. The flint tools found here from that era (6000–4500 BC) ...

– 21 November 1881) was a German botanist and

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

Life

A native of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label= Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germ ...

, Sonder studied at

Kiel University Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: link=no, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel ...

, where he sat pharmaceutical examinations in 1835, before becoming the proprietor of a pharmacy in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

from 1841 to 1878. In 1846 he received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

and was elected a member of the

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: link=no, Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale ...

for his contribution to the field of botany.

Herbarium

From a young age, Sonder showed considerable interest and skill in Botany. He often embarked on botanical excursions in his local area early in the morning before heading to work at the pharmacy. Throughout his life, Sonder met and conversed with many eminent botanists of the era. He amassed an extensive botanical collection that contained hundreds of thousands of specimens representing all major plant groups and spanning all parts of the globe. The collection is particularly significant for its South African specimens, as well as those from tropical South America and India. It also contains thousands of

type specimens In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

. After the collection grew too large for him to manage on his own, Sonder began the process of selling it to interested parties. Early on, he made an agreement with his friend and then the Director of the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.5 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known a ...

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

that Mueller would buy the herbarium for 1200 pounds sterling. However, when Mueller struggled to procure the funds, several other institutions enquired about the collection. Between late 1874 and early 1875, Sonder worked his way through the entire collection, sorting material and remounting specimens where needed. In 1875, nine cases of specimens were sent to the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Material was also sent to French botanist

Jean Michel Gandoger Abbé Jean Michel Gandoger (10 May 1850 – 4 October 1926), was a French botanist and mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical prope ...

. Eventually, the bulk of the collection, consisting of around 250–300,000 specimens, was purchased by the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens in 1883. These specimens remain in the

today.

Standard author abbreviation

Sonder published over 1200 botanical names. See: :Taxa named by Otto Wilhelm Sonder an
International Plant Name Index

Publications

Sonder published several significant botanical works. He co-authored the multi-volume ''Flora Capensis'' (7 vol. in 11, 1859–1933) with

William Henry Harvey William Henry Harvey, FRS FLS (5 February 1811 – 15 May 1866) was an Irish botanist and phycologist who specialised in algae. Biography Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His fathe ...

(1811–1866), and was author of an 1851 botanical treatise called ''Flora Hamburgensis''.

Legacy

The following plants have been named in his honour:

Genera

* '' Ottosonderia'' of the family

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly known as ice plants or carpet weeds. They are often called vygies in South Africa and New ...

* ''Sonderina'' of the family

Umbelliferae Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants ...

, now classed as a synonym of ''

Dasispermum ''Dasispermum'' are a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to coastal area of southern South Africa. Short-lived perennial or annuals, they are low-lying, often sprawling herbs with succulent or semi-succulent leaves, adapted ...

'' Neck. ex Raf.

Species

* ''

Ficus sonderi ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending i ...

'' The following places have been named in his honour: *

Mount Sonder Mount Sonder, or ''Rwetyepme'', its Aboriginal name, is the fourth highest mountain in the Northern Territory, Australia at . Mount Zeil is the highest at , to the west. Location and features Mt Sonder is west of Alice Springs along the Ma ...

, also known by its

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

name ''Rwetyepme'',

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

, Australia. Named during

Ernest Giles William Ernest Powell Giles (20 July 1835 – 13 November 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led five major expeditions to parts of South Australia and Western Australia. Early life Ernest Giles was born in Bris ...

' 1872 expedition to the west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

References

CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: R-Z
by Umberto Quattrocchi {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonder, Otto Wilhelm 1812 births 1881 deaths People from Bad Oldesloe German pharmacists 19th-century German botanists Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina