Jerzy Rzedowski
Encyclopedia
Jerzy Rzedowski Rotter is a Mexican botanist
. He was born in Lwów, Poland (now in Ukraine
).
While he was young he was made prisoner by the Germans. He remained in a concentration camp
until World War II finished and he was liberated by the Allies
. He then travelled to Mexico looking for a more peaceful country.
He studied a bachelor's degree in Biology
at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional and a PhD in Botany at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His thesis on the Flora of the Pedregal de San Angel was quite important at this stage of his career.
He worked at different companies and institutions such as Syntex
, Smith, Kline & French, Colegio de Postgraduados, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
and Instituto Politecnico Nacional. He did not just work in the herbarium
. He explored a lot of places surveying the local plant life. He collected more than 50000 specimens that can be found in many herbaria.
At the time that he started to work on Mexican floristics
very few studies were published in that field, so he became a pioneer in it. Afterwards, he became the most respected botanist in Mexico.
Rzedowski is the author of Vegetación de México (1971),
co-editor and co-author of Flora Fanerogámica del Valle de México (1979; 2001, 2nd edition), and of Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes (1991–).
In 1995, he won the Asa Gray
Award. In 1999 he was one of the botanists to whom it was conferred the Millennium Botany Award. In 2005 he was awarded the José Cuatrecasas
Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany.
The herbaria of Instituto Politecnico Nacional and of Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro are named after Rzedowski. The botanical garden of Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro
is named after him as well.
The following taxa have been named after him:
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
. He was born in Lwów, Poland (now in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
).
While he was young he was made prisoner by the Germans. He remained in a concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
until World War II finished and he was liberated by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. He then travelled to Mexico looking for a more peaceful country.
He studied a bachelor's degree in Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional and a PhD in Botany at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His thesis on the Flora of the Pedregal de San Angel was quite important at this stage of his career.
He worked at different companies and institutions such as Syntex
Syntex
Laboratorios Syntex SA was a pharmaceutical company formed in Mexico City in 1944 by Russell Marker to manufacture therapeutic steroids from the Mexican yam....
, Smith, Kline & French, Colegio de Postgraduados, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí
The Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí is a public university in Mexico. It is the largest university in the state of San Luis Potosí...
and Instituto Politecnico Nacional. He did not just work in the herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
. He explored a lot of places surveying the local plant life. He collected more than 50000 specimens that can be found in many herbaria.
At the time that he started to work on Mexican floristics
Floristics
Floristics is a subdomain of botany and biogeography that studies distribution and relationships of plant species over geographic areas.The term is not to be confused with floristry....
very few studies were published in that field, so he became a pioneer in it. Afterwards, he became the most respected botanist in Mexico.
Rzedowski is the author of Vegetación de México (1971),
co-editor and co-author of Flora Fanerogámica del Valle de México (1979; 2001, 2nd edition), and of Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes (1991–).
In 1995, he won the Asa Gray
Asa Gray
-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
Award. In 1999 he was one of the botanists to whom it was conferred the Millennium Botany Award. In 2005 he was awarded the José Cuatrecasas
José Cuatrecasas
José Cuatrecasas was a botanist. He was born on March 19, 1903 in Camprodon, Catalonia, Spain.His research focused on the high-elevation páramo and sub-páramo regions of the Andes Mountains in South America, especially the flowering plant families Asteraceae and Malpighiaceae.In 1997, the...
Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany.
The herbaria of Instituto Politecnico Nacional and of Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro are named after Rzedowski. The botanical garden of Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro
Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro
The Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro is a public university in Mexico dedicated to the Agricultural, Silvicultural, animal, food and environmental sciences. It is located 6 kilometers south of Saltillo, in the Mexican state of Coahuila. There is also a campus in Torreón, Coahuila. It is...
is named after him as well.
The following taxa have been named after him:
- AgaveAgaveAgave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
rzedowskiana - AnthuriumAnthuriumAnthurium , is a large genus of about 600–800 species, belonging to the arum family . Anthurium can also be called "Flamingo Flower" or "Boy Flower", both referring to the structure of the spathe and spadix....
rzedowskii - BernardiaBernardiaBernardia is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae....
rzedowskii - BouvardiaBouvardiaBouvardia is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. It contains about 30 species of evergreen herbs and shrubs native to tropical America. The genus is named in honor of Charles Bouvard , physician to Louis XIII, and superintendent of the Jardin du Roi in Paris.-Description:They grow...
rzedowskii - BurseraBurseraBursera, named after the Danish botanist Joachim Burser is a genus with about 100 described species of flowering shrubs and trees varying in size upwards to 25 m. high...
rzedowskii - CanthonCanthonCanthon is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea....
rzedowskii - Cercocarpus rzedowskii
- CommelinaCommelinaCommelina is a genus of approximately 170 species commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers. They are less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae...
rzedowskii - CrotalariaCrotalariaCrotalaria is a genus of herbaceous plants and woody shrubs in the Family Fabaceae commonly known as rattlepods. Some 600 or more species of Crotalaria are described worldwide, mostly from the tropics; at least 500 species are known from Africa. Some species of Crotalaria are grown as ornamentals...
rzedowskii - CrotonCroton (genus)Croton is an extensive flowering plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, established by Carl Linnaeus in 1737. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also...
rzedowskii - DaleaDaleaDalea is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as prairie clover or indigo bush. Its name honours English apothecary Samuel Dale .-Species:-Formerly placed here:...
rzedowskii - DioonDioonDioon is a genus of cycads in the family Zamiaceae. It contains 11 accepted species that are native to Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Their habitats include tropical forests, pine-oak forest, and dry hillsides, canyons and coastal dunes....
rzedowskii - EleocharisEleocharisEleocharis is a genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. They are known commonly as spikerushes, although spikesedges is a more technically appropriate name and most scientists who study them in earnest refer to them as such...
rzedowskii - Euphorbia rzedowskii
- DioonDioonDioon is a genus of cycads in the family Zamiaceae. It contains 11 accepted species that are native to Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Their habitats include tropical forests, pine-oak forest, and dry hillsides, canyons and coastal dunes....
rzedowskii - GaliumGaliumGalium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, with 617 known species occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Most species are known as bedstraw. G...
rzedowskii - HabenariaHabenariaHabenaria, commonly called bog orchids, are a far ranging genus of orchid, one of approximately 800 described Orchidaceae genera within that large and diverse family. There are species in both tropical and temperate zones.-Description:...
rzedowskii - JatrophaJatrophaJatropha is a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees , from the family Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός , meaning "physician," and τροφή , meaning "nutrition," hence the common name physic nut. Mature plants produce separate male and female...
rzedowskii - Pachyphytum rzedowskii
- Pinus rzedowskii
- PsilocybePsilocybePsilocybe is a genus of small mushrooms growing worldwide. This genus is best known for its species with psychedelic or hallucinogenic properties, widely known as "magic mushrooms", though the majority of species do not contain hallucinogenic compounds...
rzedowskii - RondeletiaRondeletia (plant)Rondeletia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to the neotropics. There are around 160 species.Rondeletia odorata is widely grown as an ornamental. Several other species are also known in cultivation....
rzedowskii - Rzedowskia tolantonguensis
- SchoenocaulonSchoenocaulonSchoenocaulon is a North American genus of 26 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants, ranging from the southern United States to Peru. It is a member of the Melanthiaceae, according to the AGP II...
rzedowskii - SedumSedumSedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. It contains around 400 species of leaf succulents that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, varying from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have...
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