Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist.
Biography
Born in
Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened
Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to
Meissner. For most of his 40-year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel. He made important contributions to the botanical literature, including the publication of the comprehensive work
Plantarum Vascularum Genera, and publications of monographs on the families
Polygonaceae (especially the genus
Polygonum),
Lauraceae,
Proteaceae,
Thymelaeaceae and
Hernandiaceae. His contributions to the description of the Australian flora were prolific; he described hundreds of species of Australian Proteaceae, and many Australian species from other families, especially
Fabaceae,
Mimosaceae and
Myrtaceae. His health deteriorated after 1866, and he was less active. He died in
Basel on 2 May 1874.
See also
