Hjalmar Frederik Christian Kiærskou (b. 6 August 1835 in Copenhagen; d. 18 March 1900), sometimes also stated as Hjalmar Kiaerskov, was a Danish botanist.

Hjalmar Kiærskou was the son of landscape artist Frederik Christian Jakobsen Kiærskou (1805–1891). In 1862 he graduated as Magister

Magister (degree)

Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.-Argentina:...

 for Science. In 1861 he became an assistant at the University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden

University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden

The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden , usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark...

. From 1875 to 1883 he was librarian at the botanical library. In 1873 he married his cousin Margrethe Olivia Gindrup. In 1883 he became an inspector at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. From 1869 to 1893 he was editor of the journal Botanisk Tidsskrift. From 1882 to 1889 he was teacher in the Monrad'ske Kursus (a course named in honour to the Danish prime minister Ditlev Gothard Monrad

Ditlev Gothard Monrad

Ditlev Gothard Monrad was a Danish politician and bishop of Lolland-Falster.Monrad was one of the pioneers of the making of a constitutional Denmark after 1848...

) at Danmarks Lærerhøjskole (Denmark's Teacher's College). In 1882 he was lecturer as the polytechnic institute. From 1876 to 1883 he was assistant at the chemical laboratory of Sigfred Frederik Edvard Valdemar Stein.

Kiærskou published the scientific descriptions of several plant taxa from the families Lythraceae

Lythraceae

Lythraceae are a family of flowering plants. It includes about 620 species of mostly herbs, with some shrubs and trees, in 31 genera. Major genera include Cuphea , Lagerstroemia , Nesaea , Rotala , and Lythrum...

 and Myrtaceae

Myrtaceae

The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...

, in particular from Spain and Brazil. Together with Samsøe Lund he wrote a monograph about the cultivated forms of the cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

, the beet

Beet

The beet is a plant in the Chenopodiaceae family which is now included in Amaranthaceae family. It is best known in its numerous cultivated varieties, the most well known of which is the purple root vegetable known as the beetroot or garden beet...

, and the rapeseed

Rapeseed

Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...

.

This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Kiaersk. when citing

Author citation (botany)

In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...

 a botanical name

Botanical name

A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...

.

Works (selected)

• 1884: En monografisk skildring af havekaalens, rybsens og rapsens kulturformer (with Samsøe Lund)
• 1890: Myrtaceae ex India occidentali a dominis Eggers, Krug, Sintenis, Stahl aliisque collectae
• 1893: Enumeratio Myrtacearum Brasiliensium quas collegerunt viri doctissimi Glaziou, Lund, Mendona, Raben, Reinhardt, Schenck, Warming aliique. Hauniae. Apud. Jul. Gjellerup. Ex Officina. Hoffensbergiana, 1893.