Walter Carl Otto Busse (1868 – 1933) was a German

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 ...

, whose primary scholarly focus was on German agriculture and the plants, fungi and lichen of Africa.

Life

Busse was born in

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 ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

on 7 December 1868. He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

in 1892. His first posting was in the German Imperial Health Office (Kaiserliche Gesundheitsamt). He then went on to work in the Imperial Biological Institute (Biologische Reichsanstalt) in Dahlem. In 1900 he made a plant collecting expedition to Africa. He then travelled to the Bogor Botanical Gardens (then called the Botanical Gardens in Buitenzorg) in

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 make a study of

Cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

species which have medicinal value as a source of

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

. In 1903 he returned to Africa to make collections in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, before returning to Germany in 1905. Following the founding of the Imperial Colonial Office () he transferred to the Department for Agriculture and Forestry. His work on

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...

during this time was notable. In this position he travelled to

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. In 1926 he was made Privy Councilor () on agricultural matters for the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

to the

International Institute of Agriculture The International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) was the first organization to systematically produce and exchange global data on crops, cultivated land, and trade flows. The late 19th century called for a demand in worldwide data on production, st ...

in Rome. He retired in 1919.

Work

During his collecting trips to Africa he was charged with assessing local woody plant species for use in commercial purposes. In addition to the many plant specimens he acquired and described, he was also noted for the photographs he took while collecting.

Legacy

He is the authority for at least 31

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

including: Several species are named in his honor including: *'' Acalypha bussei'' Hutch. *'' Abutilon bussei'' Gürke ex Ulbr. *'' Aloe bussei'' A.Berger *'' Aspilia bussei'' O.Hoffm. & Muschl. *'' Brachystegia bussei'' Harms *'' Diospyros bussei'' Gürke *'' Dissotidendron bussei'' ( Gilg ex

Engl. Engl or Engl. may refer to: *England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more ...

) Ver.-Lib. & G.Kadereit *'' Entandrophragma bussei'' Harms ex

*'' Euphorbia bussei'' Pax *'' Excoecaria bussei'' ( Pax) Pax *'' Ficus bussei'' Warb. ex Mildbr. & Burret *'' Galium bussei'' K.Schum. & K.Krause *''

Heinsia bussei ''Heinsia'' is a small genus of flowering shrubs or small trees in the family Rubiaceae. They are native to tropical Africa. The genus was first formally named in 1830 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. Species , the following five species are a ...

'' Verdc. *'' Hexalobus bussei'' Diels *'' Indigofera bussei'' J.B.Gillett *'' Maerua bussei'' ( Gilg & Gilg-Ben.) R.Wilczek *'' Millettia bussei'' Harms *'' Oliverella bussei'' ( Sprague) Polhill & Wiens *'' Philenoptera bussei'' ( Harms) Schrire *'' Rhodopentas bussei'' ( K.Krause) Kårehed & B.Bremer *'' Rinorea bussei'' M.Brandt *'' Salacia bussei'' Loes. *'' Scilla bussei'' Dammer *'' Tetracera bussei'' Gilg *'' Vachellia bussei'' ( Harms ex Y.Sjöstedt) Kyal. & Boatwr.

References

19th-century German botanists 1868 births 1933 deaths University of Freiburg alumni 20th-century German botanists {{Botanist-stub