Pier Antonio Micheli

Pier Antonio Micheli ( born December 11, 1679 Florence, † January 1, 1737 ) was an Italian botanist. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " P.Micheli ".

Life

Micheli was the son of a worker and grew up in poverty. He attended only elementary school, but dropped by his keen interest in plants. He was promoted inter alia by Lorenzo Magalotti (1637-1712) and Cosimo Castiglioni and also gained the support of Cosimo III. de Medici as well as its successor. Cosimo gave him Tournefort " Institutiones rei herbariae ", a work that strongly influenced Micheli.

Since he could not afford a college education, he was hired ( Botanical Garden of Florence) as a gardener in the Orto Botanico di Firenze. There he soon became assistant to Michelangelo Tilli, the professor of botany and director of the botanical garden, which he self- supervised and later further developed. In addition to this employment he wrote his book " Nova plantarum genera juxta Tournafortii methodum disposita " which was published in 1729 and with whom he earned the highest recognition among professional scholars.

In this work, the publication of which only generous donors was possible Micheli describes about 1,900 species, of which 1,400 for the first time. Most of these species belong to the lower plants, again including about 900 species of fungi.

The accompanying 108 copper plates, which he dedicated to each one of the donors, provide kinds of the following groups is:

  • 2 algae
  • 44 Mushrooms
  • 18 lichen
  • 8 liverworts ( Blasia, Corsinia, Targionia )
  • 1 moss
  • 1 fern ( Salvinia )
  • 34 flowering plants ( Montia, Tozzia, Vallisneria )

The laws in staple plant names were also dedicated donors who were later adopted by Linnaeus and are still valid. Numerous other names he gave the genera described by him, are still valid; Examples include Puccinia, Botrytis, Aspergillus and Mucor.

In addition to the description and systematization of species Micheli primarily explored the development of fruit bodies in fungi. He also watched the Ausstäuben the spores in Geaster and Lycoperdon, spinning off the Gleba at Sphaerobolus, the funiculus to the peridioles at Cyathus. He used in his investigations the microscope and discovered four spores in the asci of the tuber firmly, watching the conidia of Aspergillus perlschnurartigen cell chains of Nostoc and many others.

In his search for the " flowers " of the mushrooms that he had discovered in sterile edge structures of the basidia believed he found the fungal spores that indeed already been described in 1588 by Giambattista Della Porta, then, however, be forgotten. Many mushrooms he sowed spores and followed the development of the mycelium, in some cases, up to the formation of fruiting bodies.

Because of his pioneering discoveries in fungi Micheli considered the father of mycology.

Micheli died of pleurisy.

Ehrentaxon

Carl Linnaeus named in his honor the genus Michelia the plant family of the magnolia family ( Magnoliaceae ). The genus is now merged with Magnolia.

Swell

  • Heike Heklau, Heinrich Dörfelt: History of Mycology, publishing Dietenberger, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1998, ISBN 3-927654-44-2.
  • Karl Mägdefrau: History of botany. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-437-20489-0 ( Nachdr d ed Stuttgart 1973).
  • Moselio Schaechter: Pier Antonio Micheli. The father of modern mycology; A paean. In: McIlvainea. Official organ of the NAMA, Vol 14 (2000 ), No. 1, ISSN 0099-8400.
  • Giovanni Targioni - Tozzetti: Notizie della vita e delle opere di Pier 'Antonio Michelli. Le Monnier, Florence 1858.
Italy Joseph Pitton de Tournefort International Plant Names Index Integrated Authority File
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