Friedrich Welwitsch, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Friedrich Welwitsch

Austrian Botanist and explorer

Date of Birth: 25-Feb-1806

Place of Birth: Maria Saal, Carinthia, Austria

Date of Death: 20-Oct-1872

Profession: botanist, mycologist, explorer, pteridologist

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch (5 February 1806 – 20 October 1872) was an Austrian explorer and botanist who in Angola discovered the plant Welwitschia mirabilis.
His report received wide attention among the botanists and general public, comparable only to the discovery of two other plants in the 19th century, namely Victoria amazonica and Rafflesia arnoldii.In Angola, Welwitsch also discovered Rhipsalis baccifera, the only cactus species naturally occurring outside the New World.
It was found a few years later in Sri Lanka too, which reignited the now already one and a half century old debate on the origin of cacti in Africa and Asia.
At the time, the debate concluded with the conviction of numerous authors that they were introduced and spread by migratory birds.Among the botanists, Welwitsch is also known after his descriptions of numerous other plants, for example Cyphostemma macropus, Tavaresia angolense, Dorstenia psilurus, Sarcocaulon mossamedense, Acanthosicyos horridus, Pachypodium namaquanum and Pachypodium lealii.
The earthstar fungus Geastrum welwitschii, a species he collected in Spain, is named in his honor.