Gustav Mann was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 botanist who led expeditions in West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

 and was also a gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

.

Born in Hanover

Hanover

Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

 in 1836, he was chosen by William Jackson Hooker

William Jackson Hooker

Sir William Jackson Hooker, FRS was an English systematic botanist and organiser. He held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, and was the first Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He enjoyed the friendship and support of Sir Joseph Banks for his exploring,...

, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to take part in William Balfour Baikie

William Balfour Baikie

William Balfour Baikie was a Scottish explorer, naturalist and philologist.-Biography:Baikie was born at Kirkwall, Orkney, eldest son of Captain John Baikie, R.N. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and, on obtaining his M.D. degree, joined the Royal Navy in 1848...

's expedition to West Africa. While there, he sent numerous specimens back to Kew.

He married Mary Anne Stovell in 1863.

His exploration of the Cameroon Mountains is described by Sir Richard Burton in Abeokuta and the Camaroon Mountains vol. 2

Mann later collected specimens in Darjeeling, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, before retiring to Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, in 1891. He died in 1916

Some 349 species of plants, the genera Manniella

Manniella

Manniella is a genus of orchids belonging to the subfamily Orchidoideae.It consists of two species: the type species Manniella gustavi Rchb. f. and Manniella cypripedioides, Salazar & al., both from West Africa. Because of its phylogenetic position as the sister of Neotropical subtribes...

Hook.f. and Manniophyton Muell. Arg.; and Mann's Spring on the Cameroon Mountain bear his name.

Publications

Mann, G., H. Wendland, Hooker, Sir J. D. On the palms of western tropical Africa. R. Taylor, 1864, London.

Mann, G. List of Assam ferns. C. Wolf & Sohn, 1898?, München

For more information:

External links