# Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Heinrich_Gustav_Reichenbach > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Heinrich_Gustav_Reichenbach.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Gustav_Reichenbach > Source revision: 1282570743 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) German botanist (1824–1889) This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach Born 3 January 1823 (1823-01-03) Dresden, Saxony, German Confederation Died 6 May 1889(1889-05-06) (aged 66) Hamburg, German Empire Occupations botanist and orchidologist Spouse Kathelijne de Bruyn(e) Father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach Scientific career Author abbrev. (botany) Rchb.f. **Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach** ([Dresden](/source/Dresden), 3 January 1823 – [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg), 6 May 1889) was a [botanist](/source/Botanist) and the foremost [German](/source/Germany) [orchidologist](/source/Orchid) of the 19th century. His father [Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach](/source/Ludwig_Reichenbach) (author of *Icones Florae Germanicae et Helveticae*) was also a well-known botanist. ## Biography He started his study of orchids at the age of 18 and assisted his father in the writing of *Icones*. He became a Doctor in [Botany](/source/Botany) with his work on the [pollen](/source/Pollen) of orchids (see ‘Selected Works’). Soon after his graduation, Reichenbach was appointed to the post of extraordinary [professor](/source/Professor) of botany at the [Leipzig](/source/University_of_Leipzig) in 1855. He then became director of the [botanical gardens](/source/Botanical_garden) at the [Hamburg University](/source/University_of_Hamburg) (1863-1889). At that time, thousands of newly discovered orchids were being sent back to Europe. He was responsible for identifying, describing, classifying. Reichenbach named and recorded many of these new discoveries. He probably was not the easiest of personalities, and used to boast about his many descriptions, some of which were superficial, leading to a great deal of taxonomic confusion. H.G. Reichenbach became the world's leading authority on orchids, after the death of his friend, the 'father of orchidology' [John Lindley](/source/John_Lindley) in 1865. Reichenbach spoke English extremely well. He made many visits, sometimes lasting many weeks, to Kew and the [herbarium of the British Museum](/source/Natural_History_Museum%2C_London), as well as visits to English professional and private growers of orchids. His last visit to England was in the autumn of 1887.[1] "Orchid specimens from all over the world were sent to him for identification, and these, together with his copious notes and drawings, forms an immense herbarium which rivaled that of Lindley at Kew" (Reinikka, 'A history of the orchid', p. 215). His immense [herbarium](/source/Herbarium) and [library](/source/Library) were bequeathed to the 'Naturhistorisches Museum' in [Vienna](/source/Vienna), Austria (instead, as expected, to the [Kew Gardens](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens%2C_Kew)), on the condition that it would not be consulted during the first 25 years after his death. Reichenbach probably acted this way out of resentment of the appointment of [Robert Allen Rolfe](/source/Robert_Allen_Rolfe), a self-taught orchid expert, as the top [taxonomist](/source/Taxonomist) at Kew. This resulted in a great number of double or multiple descriptions of orchid species, which had to be corrected afterwards. After Reichenbach's death, his work was continued by [Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (“Fritz”) Kraenzlin](/source/Friedrich_Wilhelm_Ludwig_Kraenzlin) (1847-1934). In 1886, [Frederick Sander](/source/Henry_Frederick_Conrad_Sander) commissioned [Henry George Moon](/source/Henry_George_Moon) (1857-1905), a pure colourist, to paint 192 [watercolour](/source/Watercolour) plates of orchids with descriptions by Reichenbach (1888-1894). These monthly publications became known as the [*Reichenbachia*](/source/Reichenbachia%3A_Orchids_Illustrated_and_Described) and are the richest reference sources on orchids ever produced. The standard [author abbreviation](/source/List_of_botanists_by_author_abbreviation_(A)) Rchb.f. is used to indicate this person as the author when [citing](/source/Author_citation_(botany)) a [botanical name](/source/Botanical_name).[2] ## Eponymous taxa - *[Reichenbachanthus](/source/Reichenbachanthus)* - *Chondrorhyncha reichenbachiana* (now a synonym of *[Benzingia reichenbachiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benzingia_reichenbachiana&action=edit&redlink=1)* ([Schltr.](/source/Schltr.)) Dressler 2005) - *[Masdevallia](/source/Masdevallia) reichenbachiana* - *[Microstylis reichenbachiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Microstylis_reichenbachiana&action=edit&redlink=1)* - *[Phalaenopsis](/source/Phalaenopsis) reichenbachiana* - *[Pinguicula](/source/Pinguicula) longifolia* subsp. *reichenbachiana* - *[Restrepiopsis reichenbachiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Restrepiopsis_reichenbachiana&action=edit&redlink=1)* - *[Sievekingia reichenbachiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sievekingia_reichenbachiana&action=edit&redlink=1)* - *[Stanhopea](/source/Stanhopea) reichenbachiana* ## Selected works - Reichenbach, H. G. (1852). *De pollinis Orchidearum genesi ac structura et de Orchideis in artem ac systema redigendis. Commentatio quam ex auctoritate amplissimi philosophorum ordinis die mensis julii decimo hora decima MDCCCLII illustris ictorum ordinis concessu in auditorio juridico pro [venia docendi](/source/Venia_docendi) impetranda publice defendet. (on the origin and structure of orchid pollen)*. Leipzig: F. Hofmeister. - Reichenbach, H. G. (1866). *Beiträge zu einer Orchideenkunde Central-Amerika's*. Hamburg: T. G. Meissner. - Reichenbach, H. G.; Kraenzlin, W. L. (1858–1900). [*Xenia Orchidacea. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Orchideen*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/462). Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus. ## See also - *[Phalaenopsis hieroglyphica](/source/Phalaenopsis_hieroglyphica)*, an orchid first described by Reichenbach as a variety of *[P. lueddemanniana](/source/Phalaenopsis_lueddemanniana)* ## References - Reinikka, M. A. *A History of the Orchid*, p. 215, Timber Press, Oregon, 1995 - Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie [\[1\]](https://web.archive.org/web/20181215121926/http://mdz10.bib-bvb.de/~db/bsb00008411/images/index.html?seite=274) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Britten, James](/source/James_Britten) (5 April 1889). ["Henry Gustav Reichenbach (1823–1889)"](https://books.google.com/books?id=b9lCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA193). *Journal of Botany: British and Foreign*: 193–198. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [International Plant Names Index](/source/International_Plant_Names_Index). [*Rchb.f.*](https://www.ipni.org/search?q=author%20std%3ARchb.f.) ## External links - [Books by H. G. Reichenbach](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/creator/174) at the [Biodiversity Heritage Library](/source/Biodiversity_Heritage_Library) - [List of plants described by H. G. Reichenbach](http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advPlantNameSearch.do?find_family=&find_genus=&find_species=&find_infrafamily=&find_infragenus=&find_infraspecies=&find_authorAbbrev=Rchb.f.&find_includePublicationAuthors=on&find_includePublicationAuthors=off&find_includeBasionymAuthors=on&find_includeBasionymAuthors=off&find_publicationTitle=&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&back_page=plantsearch) on [IPNI](/source/IPNI) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Italy Czech Republic Netherlands Norway Academics CiNii International Plant Names Index Leopoldina Artists Scientific illustrators People Trove Deutsche Biographie DDB Other IdRef Open Library SNAC Te Papa (New Zealand) Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Gustav_Reichenbach) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Gustav_Reichenbach?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.