Carl Hilsenberg

Carl Theodor Hilsenberg ( born March 11, 1802 in Erfurt, † September 11, 1824 in Sainte Marie in Madagascar ) was a German naturalist and botanist, on Madagascar and the Mascarene plant botanical and zoological studies in the early 1820s. He often accompanied the Bohemian -born botanist Wenceslas Boii on his excursions. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Hils. "

Life

After his high school degree Hilsenberg learned from his father Z. Casper Hilsenberg the craft of surgery. He also attended lectures and courses at Johann Bartholomäus Trommsdorff, Georg Heinrich Thilow and Johann Jakob Bernhardi. At the age of 17 years Hilsenberg went to Vienna, where he was first employed as a surgeon. Here he made the acquaintance of the botanist Trattinnick Leopold, who provided him with an assistant in his Botanical Cabinet. He also was in the service of Joseph August Schultes, who told him to take copies of large botanical works from the library. Early 1820 Hilsenberg secretary Franz Wilhelm Sieber. Both initially took a trip to Munich, where Sieber wanted his botanical collection from Egypt to sell. In the spring of 1820 Hilsenberg and Sieber undertook a botanical excursion to the Tyrol. On the return trip, however, they parted ways in Bolzano, so Hilsenberg traveled alone, often risking their lives throughout Tyrol.

In March 1821 Hilsenberg broke together with the Bohemian -born botanist Wenceslas Boii on towards Mauritius, which they reached after a 105- active crossing in July of the same year. Boii and Hilsenberg discovered numerous new plant taxa in Mauritius and Réunion. Furthermore, they went on behalf of Robert Townsend Farquhar (1776-1830), the Governor of Mauritius, on an expedition to the unexplored by Europeans interior of Madagascar, where Hilsenberg spent 1 ½ years. Its rich yield of seeds, plants and animals were sent to the Linnean Society of London. The botanical material was partially described posthumously by Boii, making note of Hilsenberg as co -author. 1822 wrote the first scientific description Hilsenberg to Dunkelalbatros ( Phoebetria fusca ), on the basis of one specimen that was caught in the Mozambique Channel.

In October 1823 Hilsenberg returned to Mauritius. After a short stay there he traveled again to Madagascar, where he fell ill in August 1824 of malaria ( " Madagaskarisches fever " ) and because at the age of 22 years on September 11, 1824 on the island of Sainte Marie died.

Dedikationsnamen

After Hilsenberg among other Habenaria hilsenbergii, Streptocarpus hilsenbergii, Dombeya hilsenbergii, Cyclosorus hilsenbergii and Scleria hilsenbergii are named.