Benjamin Heyne
Benjamin Heyne ( born January 1, 1770 in Döbra; † February 6, 1819 in Vappera, Madras ) was a German missionary, botanist and naturalist who first observed the Crassulaceae acid metabolism. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " B.Heyne ".
Life
Benjamin Heyne was educated in Dresden. As a missionary of the Moravian Church, he came in late 1791 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar. 1793 led Heyne the plantations of the British East India Company at Samalkot. In 1799 he accompanied Colin Mackenzie ( 1754-1821 ) as a botanist in the exploration of the area of Mysore. From 1802 to 1808 he headed the Lal Bagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore. In 1806 he was a doctor in Cuddapah. During his short stay in England, he was admitted to the Linnean Society of London 1813.
Work
In a letter addressed to the Vice President of the Linnean Society of London, Aylmer Bourke Lambert letter, which was read on April 20, 1813 Heyne described his made at the Goethe- plant observations: " The leaves of Cotyledon calycina, [ ... ] are in the morning so sour like sorrel, if not even more acidic. As the day progresses, they lose their acidity and are tasteless at noon. " This is the first description of the phenomena occurring during Crassulacean acid metabolism.
In the East Indies Heyne collected numerous plants. Some of these were later described by Albrecht Wilhelm Roth in Novae plantarum species praesertim Indiae Orientalis (1821 ). He commissioned locals to the making of plant drawings, which are now preserved at Kew and the British Library.
Ehrentaxa
William Roxburgh named in his honor, the genus of the plant family Heynea the mahogany family ( Meliaceae ). Also according to him the Euphorbienart Jatropha heynei was named.
Works
- On the deoxidation of the leaves of Cotyledon calycina. In: Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Volume 11, No. 2, pp. 213-215, doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1813.tb00051.x, online.
- Tracts, historical and statistical, on India: with journals of several tours trough various parts of the peninsula; So an account of Sumatra, in a series of letters; illustr. by maps and other plates. Baldwin and Black, Parry, London, 1814.