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Insight into the German botanical journals collection
Carl Mez (1866-1944)
… was a German botanist, who described 1200 species anew and worked on large plant families like Bromeliaceae, Myrsinaceae, Gramineae and Lauraceae. In his later taxonomic works, Mez applied serological methods, using proteins as biochemical markers for the development of plant genealogy.
The founding of the „Staatlichen Stelle für Naturdenkmalpflege“ (National authority for landmark conservation) in 1906 in then Prussian Danzig, is considered to be the starting point of federal nature conservation in Germany. Hugo Conwentz had influenced this development significantly. As early as 1903 he had spoken about „the necessity to create a central authority for the protection of nature” at the 1st free assembly of systematic botanists and geobotanists in Berlin.
Original descriptions of species - for example from Brazil
The „Zapfenblüthige Stachelähre“, as the plant Acanthostachys strobilacea is named by the authors, is an evergreen bromeliad, with yellow flowers. The plant is related to the pineapple and is originally from Brazil. Today it is cultivated in many botanical gardens and can be grown as a house plant as well.
Original descriptions of species – including animals
The zoologist Günther Enderlein (1872-1968) gave a short description of the insect Conwentzia pineticola in an article that appeared in the „Bericht des Westpreussischen Botanisch-Zoologischen Vereins“ (Report of the West Prussian society of botany an zoology) in 1905. Even today this characterisation is considered to be the first description.
Together with Julius Sachs, Wilhelm Pfeffer was a pioneer of modern plant physiology and conducted numerous groundbreaking experiments. He dealt with questions concerning the physiology of plant metabolism and cells, for example, osmosis, the irritability of plants and photosynthesis.
