Werner Rothmaler

Werner Walter Hugo Paul Roth painter ( born August 20, 1908 in Sanger Hausen, † April 13, 1962 in Leipzig ) was a German botanist and from 1953 to 1962 director of the Institute for Agricultural Biology, Ernst-Moritz - Arndt University in Greifswald. His areas of expertise were plant geography and systematics. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Rothm. ".

Life stages

Rothmaler was handcuffed during his school days from botany. His studies gained him such a priority that he finished grammar school without school. In 1927 he completed a horticultural apprenticeship in Weimar and Potsdam. A certain amount of time, he worked as an archivist at professional foreign noble families near Halle ( Saale) and in Glauchau.

During the Potsdamer time he came in contact with the Pflanzengeografen Ludwig Diels, the Director of the Botanical Museum and the Botanical Gardens in Berlin- Dahlem. There has not been a study because of the lack Baccalaureate possible Rothmaler was offered to work as a student in Jena at the botanists Theodor Herzog, Otto Renner and Erwin Brünning. His mentor from the Potsdamer time, Ludwig Diels, procured him in 1933 the order to a botanical expedition to Spain. Hence a stay of several years should be. Rothmaler struck during this time with various activities in botanical and pharmaceutical organizations through, but was parallel to remain active as a collector of plants and thus evolved into an excellent connoisseur of Spanish flora.

At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, Rothmaler was on holiday in Portugal, a return to Spain was no longer possible. He succeeded, however here again to get different jobs, most recently at the National Agricultural Research Centre in Lisbon. 1940 saw Rothmaler no way to stay in Portugal and returned with his wife returned to Germany. Soon after, he was drafted into the army. After seven months of military service on the Eastern Front, he was dismissed for an open pulmonary tuberculosis.

He managed to obtain exemption from the matriculation examination and missing him a PhD in 1943 in Berlin with Scripture vegetation studies in the southwestern Portugal Ludwig Diels.

During the war's end Rothmaler was near Stecklenberg in the resin. Thither the predecessor of today's Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research had been relocated. Under the influence of Soviet culture officers, the research group got a big farm, domain, Gatersleben, Gatersleben assigned near the new location. Rothmaler received very soon a department head office.

1947 Rothmaler habilitated at the University of Halle with a work still not published to the widespread in Central and South America genus pool Milla ( the rose family, subtribe Alchemillinae ). In 1949 he became a lecturer in 1950 professor with tenure in Halle.

During the time published in Gatersleben and Hall Rothmaler in 1950 his work General Taxonomy and chorology the plants as well as the first edition of Exkursionsflora.

In 1953, Rothmaler a reputation as a professor with a full teaching position to Greifswald, where he became head of the Institute was transferred for Agricultural Biology.

On the initiative Roth painter of the scientific student circles " Jean -Baptiste de Lamarck " was founded in 1953 for field biological, zoological, botanical and ecological contexts interested students at the University of Greifswald.

Works

Rothmaler was the author and editor of a number of botanical monographs and textbooks. He has published more than 190 journals, including a monograph of the genus Antirrhinum (1956) and his most famous work, the " Excursion Flora of Germany " (3 volumes ) ( 1966).

The current edition of the " Exkursionsflora " ( commonly referred to simply as " Rothmaler " ) consists of five volumes: Lower Plants (Volume 1), vascular plants - basic band ( band 2), vascular plants - Atlas band ( band 3), Critical band ( band 4) and Volume 5 - Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants.

In contrast to other floras, such as the Oberdorfer, the second volume by a third volume Atlas belt ( vascular plants ) is amended, in the determination of the essential features are illustrated by line drawings. The third volume contains black and white drawings of all identifiable in the second volume 2800 species, making it a unique tool for species identification. The fourth volume also includes critical taxa of vascular plants, ie, subspecies, varieties or ecotypes in large numbers. In contrast, the location information is not held in as much detail to the plant species as in " Oberdorfer ". The fifth volume was published in 2008 and is intended to enable the determination of the cultivated in Germany in the wild herbaceous ornamental and useful plants.

After Rothmaler named taxa

According to Werner Rothmaler the genus Rothmaleria font cross ( with the kind Rothmaleria granatensis ) from the sunflower family ( Asteraceae) is named.

In addition to this generic name reminiscent of Werner Rothmaler following names of plant species, subspecies and hybrids, as well as a fungal species:

• Alchemilla rothmaleri
• Alyssum rothmaleri ( = A. minus)
• Armeria rothmaleri 1987
• Centaurea paniculata ssp. rothmalerana = C. rothmalerana = Acosta rothmalerana
• Festuca rubra L. var rothmaleri = F. rothmaleri
• Helianthum x rothmaleri
• Hieracium laevigatum ssp. rothmaleri
• Lupinus rothmaleri
• Myrica rothmalerana
• Phyllosticta rothmaleri
• Silene rothmaleri

Private

Rothmaler was married twice. ( † 1993 Kecker Elisabeth, born 1921 ), two sons ( Valentin Konrad Philipp Gottfried and Sebastian ) out from the first marriage ( with Wilhelmine Neumann, born 1911 ) Two daughters were born ( Ursula and Susanne ), from his second marriage.

Rothmaler received a state funeral in Weimar.

2008 he founded Lamarckzirkels at the former home of the family in Greifswald was a plaque mounted on the occasion of the 100th birthday Roth painter on the initiative.

Source

• Hanns Gyro: We called him Vadder. - Werner Roth painter - an exceptional high school teacher from 1908 to 1962. University of Greifswald speeches, New Series No. 90 Greifswald 1999, ISBN 3-86006-131-3 ( reprint of a lecture on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Werner Roth painter)