Rudolf Marloth
Rudolf Marloth | |
---|---|
Botanist, Pharmacist and Analytical Chemist | |
Thesis | "The protective mechanisms employed by seeds against harmful agents" |
Author abbrev. (botany) | Marloth |
Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth (28 December 1855
Biography
Early life
Marloth studied pharmacy in Lübben from 1873-1876. after which he worked at various pharmacies in Germany and Switzerland, then formally qualified as a pharmacist at the
He arrived in Cape Town on 30 December 1883 after being urged to do so by a schoolfriend who had already settled there. During his first year there he worked as a pharmacist for the firm of Wentzel and Schleswig. He was enthralled by Cape Town and Table Mountain and started immediately on a plant collection, soon going further afield to places like Klein Winterhoek, Du Toitskloof, Bainskloof and Sneeukop. During this time he started his own business in Cape Town. Acting as a locum in Kimberley, he made collecting trips from 1885-1886 to the surrounding areas such as Kuruman in the Northern Cape and to South West Africa where he visited Aus, Lüderitz Bay, Walvis Bay, Usakos, Ubib, Karibib, Otjimbingwe and Okahandja. Many of his specimens were written up under "Plantae Marlothiana" by Engler and others in Berlin.
In 1888 he accepted a post in the Department of Chemistry at Victoria College (which later became Stellenbosch University); shortly after this in 1889 he became Professor and held this position till 1892. Thereafter he lectured at Elsenburg Agricultural School and at the same time acted as consultant and analytical chemist in Cape Town.
Later life
In 1891 he married Marian van Wyk of
The day after his arrival in Cape Town, he had climbed to the top of
In 1898 he met
On a visit to South Africa in 1905, Lady Phillips commissioned Rudolf Marloth to undertake his Flora of South Africa, a mammoth work published in 6 volumes between 1913 and 1932. In 1917 a Dictionary of the Common Names of Plants was published - this was a supplement to the Flora of South Africa. Other publications by Marloth were Cape Flowers at home (Darter, Cape Town, 1922), The Chemistry of South African Plants and Plant Products (Cape Chemical Society, Cape Town, 1913), Das Kapland:insonderheit das Reich der Kapflora, das Waldgebiet und die Karroo, pflanzengeographisch dargestellt (Gustav Fischer, Jena, 1908) and Stone-shaped Plants (Speciality Press, Cape Town, 1929)
2 genera of flowering plants have been named in his honour, in 1912 Marlothiella from Namibia, belonging to the family Apiaceae,[2] then in 1928 Marlothistella from South Africa, belonging to the family Aizoaceae .[3] and also species Aloe marlothii was named in Marloth's honour.[4]
An important nature reserve and holiday township in Mpumalanga, Marloth Park, is also named after this famous botanist, besides the Marloth Nature Reserve in the Western Cape.
References
- ISBN 1-84246-085-4.
- ^ "Marlothiella gummifera H.Wolff | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ "Marlothistella Schwantes | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ "Aloe marlothii A.Berger | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
Bibliography
- R.H.C. (1931). "Rudolf Marloth" (Obituary). Journal of the Botanical Society of South Africa. 17 (3216): 18. S2CID 26587770.