Walter Carl Otto Busse

Walter Carl Otto Busse (1868 – 1933) was a German botanist, whose primary scholarly focus was on German agriculture and the plants, fungi and lichen of Africa.[1]

Walter Carl Otto Busse
Born(1868-12-07)December 7, 1868
Berlin, Germany
DiedDecember 15, 1933(1933-12-15) (aged 65)
Rome, Italy
NationalityGerman
CitizenshipGerman
Alma materUniversity of Freiburg
Scientific career
FieldsBotany
InstitutionsInternational Institute of Agriculture
Imperial Colonial Office
Author abbrev. (botany)Busse

Life

Busse was born in Berlin, Germany on December 7, 1868. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Freiburg in 1892. His first posting was in the German Imperial Health Office (Kaiserliche Gesundheitsamt). He then went on to work in the Imperial Biological Institute (Biologische Reichsanstalt) in Dahlem. In 1900 he made a plant collecting expedition to Africa. He then travelled to the Bogor Botanical Gardens (then called the Botanical Gardens in Buitenzorg) in Java to make a study of Cinchona species which have medicinal value as a source of quinine. In 1903 he returned to Africa to make collections in Tanzania, Cameroon and Togo, before returning to Germany in 1905. Following the founding of the Imperial Colonial Office (German: Reichskolonialamt) he transferred to the Department for Agriculture and Forestry. His work on tobacco and alfalfa during this time was notable. In this position he travelled to Central Asia, the Caucasus, Crimea, Turkey and North America. In 1926 he was made Privy Councilor (German: Geheimrat) on agricultural matters for the Weimar Republic to the International Institute of Agriculture in Rome. He retired in 1919.[2][3][4]

Work

During his collecting trips to Africa he was charged with assessing local woody plant species for use in commercial purposes.[5] In addition to the many plant specimens he acquired and described, he was also noted for the photographs he took while collecting.[6]

Legacy

He is the authority for at least 31 taxa including: IPNI. List of plant names with authority Busse.

Several species are named in his honor including:

References
  1. "Index of Botanists: Busse, Walter Carl Otto". Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries. n.d. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. "Walter Busse". Der Züchter. 6 (1): 19–19. 1934. doi:10.1007/BF01812266. ISSN 0514-0641.
  3. "News". Botanical Gazette. 30 (2): 142. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  4. "Busse, Walter Carl Otto (1865-1933)". JSTOR Global Plants. ITHAKA. n.d. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. Schabel, H. G. (1990). "Tanganyika Forestry Under German Colonial Administration, 1891-1919". Forest & Conservation History. 34 (3): 130–141. doi:10.2307/3983902. ISSN 1046-7009.
  6. Bessey, C. E. (1906). "Botanical Notes". Science. 24 (626): 868–870. doi:10.1126/science.24.626.868. ISSN 0036-8075.
  7. IPNI.  Busse.
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