Carl Maximowicz
Encyclopedia
Carl Johann Maximowicz was a Russia
n botanist. Maximowicz spent most of his life studying the flora of the countries he had visited in the Far East, and naming many new species. He worked at the Saint Petersburg Botanical Gardens from 1852 as curator of the herbarium
collection, becoming Director in 1869.
, Estonia
in (1850), he was a pupil of Alexander G. von Bunge
.
From 1853-1857 he traveled around the world. He travelled with another Baltic-German Leopold von Schrenck
to the Amur
region in eastern Asia. From 1859 to 1864 he also he visited China, Korea and Japan. He arrived in Japan in late 1860, initially basing his operations in Hakodate. He traveled extensively in southern Japan and for much of 1862 including the region of Yokohama
and Mount Fuji
, he ended that year in Nagasaki
. He also explored much of Kyūshū
.
He was particularly involved with the flora of Japan, following the footsteps of notably Carl Peter Thunberg
, and Philipp Franz von Siebold
. His assistant in Japan was Sukawa Chonosuke, whose name was given by Maximowicz to the flower Trillium
tschonoskii.
He also studied the flora
of Tibet, concluding that is was chiefly composed of immigrants from Mongolia and the Himalaya.
Commissioned by the Russian Academy of Sciences
, he purchased from von Siebold’s widow the set of eight volumes of the famous collection of Japanese botanical illustrations drawn by several Japanese artists.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n botanist. Maximowicz spent most of his life studying the flora of the countries he had visited in the Far East, and naming many new species. He worked at the Saint Petersburg Botanical Gardens from 1852 as curator of the herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
collection, becoming Director in 1869.
History
Born a Baltic-German, his name at birth was Karl Ivanovich Maksimovich, but he changed it to the German version of his name for his scientific work. He graduated from the institution which is now University of TartuUniversity of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
in (1850), he was a pupil of Alexander G. von Bunge
Alexander G. von Bunge
Alexander Georg von Bunge was a Baltic German botanist. He was a professor of botany at the University of Tartu, and was director of the department from 1842 until 1844...
.
From 1853-1857 he traveled around the world. He travelled with another Baltic-German Leopold von Schrenck
Leopold von Schrenck
Leopold Ivanovich von Schrenck was a Russian zoologist, geographer and ethnographer.-Biography:Schrenck was a Baltic German born and brought up near Chotenj, south-west of St Petersburg. He received his doctorate from the University of Tartu, and then studied natural science in Berlin and Königsberg...
to the Amur
Amur Oblast
Amur Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , situated about east of Moscow on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers. It shares its border with the Sakha Republic in the north, Khabarovsk Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the east, People's Republic of China in the south, and Zabaykalsky...
region in eastern Asia. From 1859 to 1864 he also he visited China, Korea and Japan. He arrived in Japan in late 1860, initially basing his operations in Hakodate. He traveled extensively in southern Japan and for much of 1862 including the region of Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
and Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
, he ended that year in Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
. He also explored much of Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
.
He was particularly involved with the flora of Japan, following the footsteps of notably Carl Peter Thunberg
Carl Peter Thunberg
Carl Peter Thunberg aka Carl Pehr Thunberg aka Carl Per Thunberg was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. He has been called "the father of South African botany" and the "Japanese Linnaeus"....
, and Philipp Franz von Siebold
Philipp Franz von Siebold
Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold was a German physician and traveller. He was the first European to teach Western medicine in Japan...
. His assistant in Japan was Sukawa Chonosuke, whose name was given by Maximowicz to the flower Trillium
Trillium
Trillium is a genus of about 40–50 species of spring ephemeral perennials, native to temperate regions of North America and Asia....
tschonoskii.
He also studied the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of Tibet, concluding that is was chiefly composed of immigrants from Mongolia and the Himalaya.
Commissioned by the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, he purchased from von Siebold’s widow the set of eight volumes of the famous collection of Japanese botanical illustrations drawn by several Japanese artists.
Named in his honor
- Acer maximowiczianumAcer maximowiczianumAcer maximowiczianum , is a species of maple widely distributed in China and Japan ....
: Nikko maple, China & Japan - Atriplex maximowicziana: Maximowicz's Saltbush
- Betula maximowicziana: Monarch Birch, Japan
- Crataegus maximowiczii Schneid.
- Kalopanax pictus var maximowiczii: China, Manchuria, Korea, Japan 1865
- Lilium leichtlinii Hooker f. var. maximowiczii (Regel) Baker: (also named after the German botanist Max Leichtlin)
- Picea maximowiczii: Maximowicz Spruce, Japan
- Populus maximowiczii: Maximowicz' Poplar
- Maximowicz's Vole (Microtus maximowiczii)
Plants named by him
Maximowicz described and named over 2300 plants which were previously unknown to science.- Genus Circaeaster Maxim. – family Circaeasteraceae
- Acer argutum Maxim.
- Acer barbinerve Maxim.
- Acer capillipes Maxim.
- Acer miyabei Maxim.
- Acer mono Maxim.
- Acer nikoense Maxim.
- Acer tschonoskii Maxim.
- Berberis thunbergiiBerberis thunbergiiBerberis thunbergii is a species of Berberis, native to Japan and eastern Asia....
Maxim. - Buddleja alternifoliaBuddleja alternifoliaBuddleja alternifolia is a species endemic to Kansu, China, where it grows along river banks in thickets at elevations of 1,500 - 4,000 m. First described and named by Carl Maximowicz in 1880, the plant was not introduced to cultivation until 1915, by Purdom and Farrer. -Description:B...
Maxim. - Calanthe reflexa Maxim.
- Goodyera macrantha Maxim.
- Juglans mandshuricaJuglans mandshuricaJuglans mandshurica, the Manchurian walnut, is a deciduous tree of the genus Juglans , native to the Eastern Asiatic Region...
Maxim. - Liparis japonica Maxim.
- Pedicularis artselaeri Maxim. – family Scrophulariaceae
- Platanthera hologlottis Maxim.
- Rhododendron schlippenbachii Maxim.
- Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim.
- Trillium tschonoskii Maxim. - Japan, Korea, northeastern China, and far-eastern Russia
- Tulotis ussuriensis (Maxim.) Hara
- Yoania japonica Maxim.
Selected works
- Rhamneae orientali-asiaticae (1866)
- Rhododendrae Asia Orientalis (1870)
- Monograph on genus Lespedeza (1873)
- Enumeratio plantarum hucusque in Mongolia : nec non adjacente parte Turkestaniae Sinensis lectarum (1889)
- Flora Tangutica : sive enumeratio plantarum regionis Tangut (AMDO) provinciae Kansu, nec non Tibetiae praesertim orientaliborealis atque tsaidam : ex collectionibus N.M. Przewalski atque G.N. Potanin (1889)
- Diagnoses plantarum novarum asiaticarum. VI
- Primitae Florae Amurensis (Flora of the Amur Region) in Bulletin de L’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg (1859).