{{Short description|German botanist (1851–1913)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb|Ernst Betche 1905 '''Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche''' (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. The standard author abbreviation '''Betche''' is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.<ref name="IPNIstd">{{cite web |url=https://www.ipni.org/a/740-1 |title=Betche, Ernst (1851-1913) |website=International Plant Names Index (IPNI) |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=26 May 2026}}</ref>
His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently well off to send him to winter in the warmer climate of Italy.
He attended horticultural college in Potsdam and later worked at the municipal gardens in Berlin. In 1874 he began work as a gardener in the nursery of Louis van Houtte in Ghent. Around 1880, he visited Samoa, Tonga, the Marshall and Caroline Islands. From his travels in the South Seas, he issued two papers on flora native to the islands. Ferns collected in the islands were shipped to Leipzig University, and the rest of the specimens were given to botanist Ferdinand von Mueller.<ref name=AU>[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/betche-ernst-2988 Betche, Ernst (1851–1913) by Terri McCormack] Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref><ref name=JS>[http://plants.jstor.org/person/bm000391337 Betche, D. Ernst L. (1851-1913)] JSTOR Global Plants</ref>
In September 1881 he was hired as a collector at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. In March 1897, he became a botanical assistant to Joseph Maiden. In Australia, he distinguished himself in the field of botanical systematics.<ref name=AU/><ref name=JS/>
The botanical genus ''Betchea'' (now a synonym of ''Ackama''){{R|POWO}} was named in his honor by Rudolf Schlechter.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=A68qyOyhOdkC&dq=%22Betchea%22+genus+Ernst&pg=PA297 CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms] by Umberto Quattrocchi</ref>
== Principal works == * "Handbook of the Flora of New South Wales", 1893 (with Charles Moore). * "A Census of New South Wales Plants", 1916 (with Joseph Maiden).<ref name=AU/>
== References == {{reflist|refs= <ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:13453-1 |title=''Betchea'' Schltr. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2026 |access-date=26 May 2026}}</ref> }}
== External links == * [http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_authorAbbrev=Betche&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_isAPNIRecord=on&find_isAPNIRecord=false&find_isGCIRecord=on&find_isGCIRecord=false&find_isIKRecord=on&find_isIKRecord=false&find_rankToReturn=all&output_format=normal&find_sortByFamily=on&find_sortByFamily=off&query_type=by_query IPNI] List of plants described and co-described by Betche.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Betche, Ernst}} Category:20th-century Australian botanists Category:German gardeners Category:Scientists from the Kingdom of Prussia Category:Emigrants from the German Empire Category:German emigrants to Australia Category:Colony of New South Wales people Category:1851 births Category:1913 deaths Category:Botanists active in Australia Category:Scientists from Potsdam Category:19th-century Australian botanists Category:19th-century German botanists