Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius
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Martius in 1850.
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| Born | 17 April 1794 Erlangen, Germany
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| Died | 13 December 1868 (aged 74) Munich, Germany
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany, exploration |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Mart. |
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (born April 17, 1794 – died December 13, 1868) was an important German botanist and explorer. He is famous for his studies of plants, especially those from Brazil.
Contents
Life of a Plant Explorer
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius was born in Erlangen, Germany. His father was a professor and a court pharmacist.
Martius earned his PhD from Erlangen University in 1814. For his studies, he wrote about the plants in the university's botanical garden. He loved studying plants, and his passion led him to an amazing adventure.
Journey to Brazil
In 1817, Martius and another scientist, Johann Baptist von Spix, were chosen for a special trip. The King of Bavaria, Maximilian I Joseph, sent them to explore Brazil.
They started their journey in Rio de Janeiro. From there, they traveled through many parts of southern and eastern Brazil. They even went up the mighty Amazon River all the way to Tabatinga. They also explored some of the Amazon's large smaller rivers. This trip helped them discover many new plants and animals.
Life as a Botanist and Professor
When Martius returned to Europe in 1820, he got an important job. He became the keeper of the botanic garden in Munich. This job also included looking after the herbarium (a collection of dried plant specimens) at the Munich Botanical Collection.
In 1826, he also became a professor of botany at the university there. He held both these positions until 1864.
Martius spent most of his time studying the plants of Brazil. He wrote many papers and published several big books. Two of his famous works were Nova Genera et Species Plantarum Brasiliensium (1823–1832) and Icones selectae Plantarum Cryptogamicarum Brasiliensium (1827). Both books had beautiful illustrations of plants. He even introduced the word hypothecium to describe a part of a lichen's fruiting body.
Famous Books and Discoveries
Martius also wrote a three-volume book about his travels in Brazil (1823–1831). It came with an atlas full of pictures.
Perhaps his most famous work is Historia naturalis palmarum (1823–1850). This huge three-volume book describes and illustrates all the known types of palm trees. It has over 240 colorful pictures, showing palms in their natural homes and detailed drawings of their parts.
In 1840, he started an even bigger project called Flora Brasiliensis. For this, he worked with many top European botanists. They each wrote about different groups of plants. This massive work continued to be published even after his death, finally finishing in 1887.
Martius also studied the potato disease that affected Europe in 1842. He wrote about the native people of Brazil, too. He studied their way of life, their health, and their languages, especially the Tupi language.
Martius passed away in Munich. His gravestone has two palm fronds and a Latin message that means "In palms, ever green, I rise again."
Honors and Family
A type of South American snake, Hydrops martii, is named after him. There is also a street in Munich called Martiusstraße in his honor.
In 2012, botanists named a new group of flowering plants from Brazil and Peru Martianthus to remember him.
Martius married Franziska von Stengel. His son, Carl Alexander von Martius, became a well-known German chemist and businessman.
Martius's Plant Collection (Herbarium Martii)
Before his trip to South America, Martius already had a large collection of plant specimens. When he returned, he brought back another 12,000 specimens! Together, these formed the Herbarium Martii.
By the time he died, his collection had grown even more. It contained 300,000 specimens, representing 65,000 different plant species from all over the world. It was one of the biggest private plant collections ever put together.
Between 1837 and 1841, Martius published a series of dried plant specimens called Herbarium florae Brasiliensis.
In 1870, the Belgian government bought this huge collection. It became the foundation for the new Jardin botanique de l'Etat (State Botanical Garden). Today, the collection is part of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium.
The Martius Project is a current effort by the Botanic Garden to make the entire collection available online by creating digital copies of each specimen.
Martius and Spix's Brazilian Expedition Route (1817–1820)
Martius and Spix traveled to Brazil as part of the Austrian Brazil Expedition. They joined the group celebrating the wedding of Archduchess Leopoldina of Austria to Dom Pedro, who would later become the Emperor of Brazil. They left from Trieste, Italy, on April 10, 1817.
Their first plant collections were made in Rio de Janeiro right after the wedding. They explored areas like Laranjeiras, Corcovado, and the Botanical Garden.
They then traveled by horseback through São Paulo state to the city of São Paulo. From there, they went to Minas Gerais, visiting places like Ouro Prêto and Diamantina.
They continued north, reaching the Rio Carinhanha. They then traveled east to Salvador and later to Piaui. In Ceará, Martius became very ill. Spix also caught a serious illness from which he later died.
In June 1819, they arrived in Maranhão to get more money and supplies. They then sailed down the Rio Itapicuru to São Luis. From there, they left for Belém, collecting specimens along the way.
From Belém, they began their Amazon journey. They went up the Tocantins and Rio Xingu to Santarém. They reached Barra do Rio Negro (now Manaus) and then Tefé.
At Tefé, they split up to explore different areas. Spix went to Solimões and Tabatinga, while Martius went up the Rio Japurá. They reunited in Manaus in March 1820. They then traveled back to Belém and left for Europe on June 13, 1820.
After this amazing journey, Martius and Spix published their detailed accounts of their travels and discoveries in Brazil. They even included a piece of Brazilian dance music called a lundu in their book. This is one of the earliest records of this type of music.
See also
- List of plants of Atlantic Forest vegetation of Brazil
- List of plants of Caatinga vegetation of Brazil
- List of plants of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil
- List of plants of Pantanal vegetation of Brazil
Selected publications
- Versuch einer Monographie der Sennesblätter (1857)
- Goethe und Martius (1932)
