August Wilhelm EichlerBorn 22 Apr 1839; died 2 Mar 1887 at age 47.German botanist whose natural system of plant classification (1886) was one of the first to become widely adopted. He studied the symmetry of the parts of a flower. His system of plant classification was based on earlier work of de Jussieaus and others. Eichler assumed complexity indicated more advanced development. His plant kingdom had four divisions: Thallophyta: algae, fungi; Bryophyta: liverworts, mosses; Pteridophyta: club mosses, horsetails, ferns; Spermatophyta: seed plants (angiosperms: flowering plants and gymnosperms: pines, spruces, and firs). Eichler wrote a syllabus of pharmaceutical botany and made significant collection on the flora of Brazil.« |
