Franz Sieber
Encyclopedia
Franz Wilhelm Sieber was a botanist and collector who travelled to Europe, the Middle East, Southern Africa and Australia
.
After 5 years of study at the Gymnasium, endowed with a considerable talent for the graphic arts he studied architecture, switched to engineering and finally settled on natural history, in particular botany.
, Greece
, Egypt
and Palestine; and a two-year long expedition to Australia, Mauritius
and South Africa
, collecting not only plants, but also animals, art and ethnographic objects.
He never reached the Western hemisphere (in contradistinction to Friedrich Wilhelm Sieber, an employee of Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg
), but sent several people to make collections for him, notably Franz Kohaut
in the Antilles
and Wenceslas Bojer
on Mauritius.
J.Gay (Asteraceae
), and many species, e.g. Acacia sieberiana
, DC, Pleurothallis sieberi Luer, or Allium
sieberianum Schult.f.,
Crocus sieberi
, Phyteuma
sieberi, Luzula
sieberi, Eucalyptus sieberi, Cheilanthes sieberi
, Callistemon sieberi, Badula
sieberi, and Hosta
sieberiana, though these names may also have honored Friedrich Wilhelm Sieber.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Early Life
Franz Sieber was born in Prague, on 30 March 1789.After 5 years of study at the Gymnasium, endowed with a considerable talent for the graphic arts he studied architecture, switched to engineering and finally settled on natural history, in particular botany.
Expeditions
He made several collecting trips to Italy, CreteCrete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Palestine; and a two-year long expedition to Australia, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, collecting not only plants, but also animals, art and ethnographic objects.
He never reached the Western hemisphere (in contradistinction to Friedrich Wilhelm Sieber, an employee of Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg
Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg
Johann Centurius Hoffmann Graf von Hoffmannsegg was a German botanist, entomologist and ornithologist.Hoffmannsegg was born at Rammenau and studied at Leipzig and Göttingen. He travelled through Europe acquiring vast collections of plants and animals. He visited Hungary, Austria and Italy in...
), but sent several people to make collections for him, notably Franz Kohaut
Franz Kohaut
Franz Kohaut was a Czech botanical collector and gardener from Neuhaus, Bohemia.In 1816-18 he accompanied botanist Franz Wilhelm Sieber on an expedition to Crete, Egypt and Palestine, and afterwards worked for Sieber as a botanical collector in Martinique . Specimens from Martinique were later...
in the Antilles
Antilles
The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
and Wenceslas Bojer
Wenceslas Bojer
Wenceslas Bojer was a notable naturalist and botanist.He was born to Simon Bojer and Barbara Staub....
on Mauritius.
Later life and death
His behavior and publications became progressively more erratic. He was constantly involved in quarrels with the authorities and fast became more and more deranged. Having “discovered” a cure for rabies he appeared in front of the city elders of Prague and demanded financial support. Soon thereafter he landed in the Prague insane asylum, where he spent the fourteen final years of his life, dying there at the age of fifty-five.Legacy
He is commemorated in the genus SieberaSiebera
Siebera is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family.-Species:* Siebera nana, found in Palestine* Siebera pungens...
J.Gay (Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
), and many species, e.g. Acacia sieberiana
Acacia sieberiana
Acacia sieberiana is a perennial tree native to Africa and introduced into Pakistan. It is known in South Africa as the Paperbark Thorn.This tree grows 3–25 m in height, with a trunk diameter of 0.6–1.8 m....
, DC, Pleurothallis sieberi Luer, or Allium
Allium
Allium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
sieberianum Schult.f.,
Crocus sieberi
Crocus sieberi
Crocus sieberi , also referred to as the Cretan crocus, or snow crocus , is a plant of the Crocus genus in the Iridaceae family. A small early blooming crocus, it easily naturalises. It grows wild in the Balkans, Greece and Crete...
, Phyteuma
Phyteuma
Phyteuma is a genus of about 40-45 species of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, native to Europe and western Asia. The common name is Rampion. Rampion features prominently in some versions of the fairy tale Rapunzel...
sieberi, Luzula
Luzula
Luzula is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants the family Juncaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution, the highest species diversity being in temperate Asia and Europe....
sieberi, Eucalyptus sieberi, Cheilanthes sieberi
Cheilanthes sieberi
Cheilanthes sieberi is a small fern growing in many parts of Australia, New Zealand and nearby islands. Common names include Poison Rock Fern and Mulga Fern...
, Callistemon sieberi, Badula
Badula
Badula is a genus of plant in family Myrsinaceae.Species include:* Badula crassa, A.DC.* Badula platyphylla, Coode* Badula reticulata, A.DC.* Badula sieberi, A.DC....
sieberi, and Hosta
Hosta
Hosta is a genus of about 23–45 species of lily-like plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, native to northeast Asia. They have been placed in their own family, Hostaceae ; like many 'lilioid monocots', they were once classified in the Liliaceae...
sieberiana, though these names may also have honored Friedrich Wilhelm Sieber.