Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius | |
|---|---|
 Martius in 1850. | |
| Born | 17 April 1794 Erlangen, Germany |
| Died | 13 December 1868 (aged 74) Munich, Germany |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany, exploration |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Mart.[1] |
Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a Germanbotanist and explorer. Between 1817 and 1820, he travelled 10,000 km through Brazil while collecting botanical specimens. His most important work was a comprehensive flora of Brazil,Flora Brasiliensis, which he initiated in 1840 and was completed posthumously in 1906.
Martius was born atErlangen, the son of ProfErnst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary.[2]
He graduated PhD fromErlangen University in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the university'sbotanical garden. After that he continued to devote himself to botanical study, and in 1817 he andJohann Baptist von Spix were sent to Brazil byMaximilian I Joseph, theking of Bavaria. They travelled fromRio de Janeiro through several of the southern and eastern provinces of Brazil and travelled up theAmazon River toTabatinga, as well as exploring some of its larger tributaries.[3]
On his return to Europe in 1820 Martius was appointed as the keeper of the botanic garden atMunich, including theherbarium at theMunich Botanical Collection, and in 1826 as professor of botany in the university there, and he held both offices until 1864. He devoted his chief attention to theflora of Brazil, and in addition to numerous short papers he published theNova Genera et Species Plantarum Brasiliensium[4] (1823–1832, 3 vols.) andIcones selectae Plantarum Cryptogamicarum Brasiliensium[5] (1827), both works being finely illustrated. He is credited for introducing the wordhypothecium in this latter work, referring to a specific layer of tissue in a lichenfruiting body that his extensive microscopical work had revealed.[6]
An account of his travels in Brazil appeared in three volumes between 1823 and 1831, with an atlas of plates, but probably the work by which he is best known is hisHistoria naturalis palmarum (1823–1850) in three large folio volumes,[3] in which all known genera of the palm family are described and illustrated. The work contains more than 240chromolithographs, with habitat sketches and botanical dissections.[7] In 1840 he began theFlora Brasiliensis, with the assistance of the most distinguished European botanists, who undertookmonographs of the various orders. Its publication was continued after his death under the editorship ofA. W. Eichler (1839–1887) until 1887, and subsequently ofIgnatz Urban. At completion, theFlora described almost 23,000 plants, of which 5,689 were new to science.[8] He also edited several works on the zoological collections made in Brazil by Spix, after the death of the latter in 1826.[3] In 1837, he was elected a foreign member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
On the outbreak of potato disease in Europe he investigated it and published his observations in 1842. He also published works and short papers on theaborigines of Brazil, on their civil and social condition, on their past and probable future, on their diseases and medicines, and on the languages of the various tribes, especially theTupi. He died atMunich;[3] his gravestone is decorated with two palm fronds and the Latin inscriptionIn palmis semper virens resurgo.
A species of South American snake,Hydrops martii, is named in his honor.[9] TheMartiusstraße in Munich is named after him.
He marriedFranziska von Stengel [de] (1801–1843). His son was German chemist, entrepreneur and company founderCarl Alexander von Martius (1838–1920).[citation needed]
In 2012, botanists Harley & J.F.B.Pastore named a genus offlowering plants from Brazil and Peru, belonging to the familyLamiaceae asMartianthus in his honour.[10]
His birthday, Apr 17, is International Palm Day, an observance by theInternational Palm Society to raise awareness of the conservation plight of palms.
As well as a huge collection of flora specimens owned by Martius prior to his departure to South America, he returned with another 12,000 specimens which together formed theHerbarium Martii. At the time of his death the collection had been further expanded and comprised 300,000 specimens representing 65,000 species from around the world, and was one of the largest private herbaria assembled. Between 1837 and 1841 Martius published anexsiccata-like series with the titleHerbarium florae Brasiliensis. Plantae Brasilienses exsiccatae, quas denominatas, partim diagnosi aut observationibus instructas botanophilis offert Dr. C. Fr. Ph. de Martius.[11]
TheBelgian government acquired the collection in 1870 which formed the basis of the then newly establishedJardin botanique de l'Etat. The collection is now held as part of theNational Botanic Garden of Belgium.
The Martius Project is an effort by the Botanic Garden todigitize the entire collection.[12]
Other herbaria also hold specimens collected by von Martius, including at theNew York Botanical Gardens, theKew Herbarium andNational Herbarium of Victoria (MEL),Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.[13]
Martius and Spix, accompanied byJohann Christian Mikan, his wife and the artistThomas Ender travelled to Brazil with theAustrian Commission, which joined the wedding train ofArchduchess Leopoldina of Austria andDom Pedro de Alcantara, the futureEmperor of Brazil. The party left fromTrieste on 10 April 1817.
The first natural history collections were made in the city ofRio de Janeiro atLaranjeiras,Corcovado,Aqueduto,Fonte da Carioca,Tijuca,Botafogo,Jardim Botanico immediately following the wedding.
Spix and Martius then spent some days at "Fazenda Mandioca" withGrigori Ivanovitch Langsdorff and then went to afazenda nearRio Paraiba before returning to Rio. A mounted expedition took them on horseback toItaguaí (13 December 1817) throughSão Paulo state to the city ofSão Paulo where they arrived on 31 December 1817. They left on 9 January 1818 forSorocaba andItu on toMinas Gerais, then throughCamanducaia to cross theRio Sapucaí forSão Gonçalo andOuro Prêto. On 1 May 1818, they left forDiamantina,Minas Novas and thenMontes Claros.
On 12 August 1818, they headed North-North East toRio Carinhanha, as far as theSerra Geral then returned byCodó toCarinhanha arriving atRio de Contas on 17 October 1818, then riding east to cross theRio Paraguaçu arriving atSalvador on 10 November 1818, and leaving on 18 February 1819 viaCoit andJacobina. The party then travelled toPiauí,Oeiras where they arrived on 3 May. They departed on 11 May, arriving on 15 May atSão Gonçalo do Amarante, where Martius became seriously ill. Spix had at this time contracted theschistosomiasis from which he eventually died.
On 3 June 1819, they arrived inMaranhão to replenish funds and supplies. They then sailed down theRio Itapicuru toSão Luis from where they left on 20 July forBelém, arriving there on 25 July, having collected specimens at several places in between. They left Belém on 21 August for an Amazon voyage, up theTocantins toBreves, arriving inGurupá on 9 September andPorto de Moz on theRio Xingu on 10 September. They spent 19 September through 30th inSantarém, arriving atBarra do Rio Negro on 22 October and leaving on 2 November. They reachedTefé, then called Ega, on 26 November, then split up.
Spix left Tefé on 7 December 1819, forSolimões and visitingTabatinga before returning toManaus on 3 February 1820. He then travelled up theRio Negro to Moura,Barcelos returning to Manaus on 26 February. Martius left Tefé on 12 December, ascendedRio Japurá, returning to Manaus on 11 March, where they reunited. They departed for Belém arriving on 16 April 1820, and left for Europe on 13 June 1820.
After this journey, Martius and Spix published their account of their travels and work in Brazil.[14][15]In the appendix, they included a piece of dance music, alundu, the earliest example of this form of music recorded, now namedLundu: Recolhido por C.P.F. von Martius.[16][17] A performance of this work by Orquestra e Coro Vox Brasiliensis &Ricardo Kanji is included in their recordingHistória da Música Brasileira – Período Colonial II.[18]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Martius, Carl Friedrich Philipp von".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 803.
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