{{Short description|German botanist (1920–1988)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Hermann Merxmüller | image = Hermann Merxmuller00.jpg | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1920|08|30}} | birth_place = Munich | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1988|02|8|1920|08|30}} | death_place = Munich, Germany | alma_mater = Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München | known_for = Taxonomy of Compositae, African flora, Alpine flora | fields = Botany, Taxonomy, Plant geography | workplaces = Botanische Staatssammlung München | notable_works = Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika, Compositenstudien | author_abbrev_bot = Merxm | spouse = | children = }} thumb '''Hermann Merxmüller''' (30 August 1920, Munich – 8 February 1988) <ref>http://81.10.184.26:9001/personen_add/Merxmueller_Hermann_1.PDF{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> was a German botanist and taxonomist.

Merxmüller's interest in botany was noticed at an early age by his mentors, and he was encouraged to collect in the Bavarian Alps and countryside. At the age of 17, he joined the Bavarian Botanical Society and at the end of World War II was awarded a scholarship by the Maximilian Foundation, enabling him to study biology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He completed his studies with a dissertation on plant distribution in the Alps, then taking up a post as scientific assistant at the Botanische Staatssammlung München. Here the institute's director, Karl Suessenguth, employed him to assist in the creation of a prodromus or introductory treatise on Namibian plants, "''Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika''". Merxmüller's interests led him to the genus ''Hieracium'', and eventually to an abiding interest in the family Compositae. He visited Namibia on five occasions, collecting mostly in the company of Willi Giess. ''Compositenstudien I'' (1950), an analysis of the collections of Sigmund Rehm from South West Africa, the Transvaal, and the Cape Province, was the first of 11 volumes, the last published in 1984. Suessenguth and Merxmüller produced only one joint publication "''A contribution to the flora of the Marandellas District, Southern Rhodesia''" (1951).

Merxmüller was an authority on the flowering plants of Africa, and discovered more than 100 new plant species in his expeditions to that continent. He also wrote extensively on Mediterranean and Alpine flora. His publications were on general systematics, taxonomy, cytotaxonomy, and plant geography.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.person.bm000005618|title=Merxmüller, Hermann (1920-1988) on JSTOR|website=plants.jstor.org}}</ref> He is commemorated in the genus ''Merxmuellera'' Conert, and many species, including ''Barleria merxmuelleri'' P.G. Meyer, ''Carex merxmuelleri'' Podlech, ''Corchorus merxmuelleri'' Wild, ''Erica merxmuelleri'' Dulffer, ''Hermannia merxmuelleri'' Friedr. etc.

Merxmüller headed the Botanische Staatsammlung for more than 25 years, during which time he became a recognized authority in the world of systematic botany. Heinrich Nothdurft worked at the State Institute of Applied Botany in Hamburg, and collaborated with Merxmüller and Kräusel on "Sträucher und Bäume". All had a share in the success of the Kronen-Verlag and the implementation of Erich Cramer's original idea - bring together prominent natural scientists and distinguished artists to create a unique work depicting the exact form and colour of each species, while reflecting its diversity and aesthetic beauty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cramers-gallery.com/ueber-cramers|title=Nachfolger des "Kronen-Verlag Erich Cramer" - Cramers Gallery Of Nature|website=www.cramers-gallery.com}}</ref>

{{botanist|Merxm.|border=0}}

==Publications== * ''Alpenflora; die wichtigeren Alpenpflanzen Bayerns, Österreichs und der Schweiz'' - Gustav Hegi, Hermann Merxmuller {{ISBN|3489900200}} (3-489-90020-0) * ''The young specialist looks at pond-life'' - Wolfgang Engelhardt and Hermann Merxmüller; translated [from the German] by Heather J. Fisher, edited and adapted by Roderick C. Fisher, illustrated by Irmgard Engelhardt * ''Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika'' * [https://archive.org/stream/mitteilungenderb06sues/mitteilungenderb06sues_djvu.txt ''Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung München''] * Merxmüller, H; J Grau. (1963). ''Chromosomenzahlen aus der Gattung ''Myosotis'' L.''. Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 76: 23–29. * Merxmüller, H; J Grau. (1967). ''Moehringia-Studien.'' — Mitt. Bot. München 6: 257–273. * Merxmüller, H; J Grau. (1968). ''Ergänzende Studien an ''Petrocoptis'' (Caryophyllaceae)'' — Coll. Bot. 7: 787–797. * Grau, J; H Merxmüller. (1972). ''Myosotis'', in: Flora Europaea III: 111–117. * Merxmüller, H; J Grau. (1976). ''Fruchtanatomische Untersuchungen in der ''Inula''-Gruppe (Astereae).'' — Publ. Cairo Univ. Herb. 7 & 8: 9—20. * Кarl Suessenguth, Нermann Merxmüller. (1951). ''A contribution to the flora of the Marandellas district, Southern Rhodesia''. Transactions, Rhodesia Scientific Association. 86 pp. * (1960). ''Die Compositen-Gattungen Südwestafrikas''<!-- (Los géneros Compositae del África Sudoccidental)''-->. 87 pp. * (1960). ''Mitteleuropäische Pflanzenwelt''<!-- (Vegetación de Europa Central)''-->. 288 pp. * (1967). ''Flore d'Europe: Plantes herbacées et sous-arbrisseaux''. Volume 1 of Flore d'Europe. * Gustav Hegi, Hermann Merxmüller. (1968). ''Alpenflora''. 112 pp. * Gustav Hegi, Hermann Merxmüller. (1976). ''Alpenflora: die wichtigeren Alpenpflanzen Bayerns, Österreichs und der Schweiz''. 157 pp.&nbsp;{{ISBN|3-489-90020-0}}. * Нermann Meusel, Нermann Merxmüller, Кarl Нeinz Rechinger. (1994). ''Lebensgeschichte der Gold- und Silberdisteln: Artenvielfalt und Stammesgeschichte der Gattung: zum Gedächtnis an Hermann Merxmüller und für Karl-Heinz Rechinger''<!-- (Ciclo de vida de cardos oro y plata: Biodiversidad y filogenia del género: en la memoria de Hermann Merxmüller y Karl-Heinz Rechinger)-->, Volume 2. 657 pp.&nbsp;{{ISBN|3-211-86558-6}}. * ''Untersuchungen zur Sippengliederung und Arealbildung in den Alpen'' - Hermann Merxmüller (1952) * ''Was lebt in Tümpel, Bach und Weiher?: eine Einführung in die Lehre vom Leben der Binnengewässer'' - Wolfgang Engelhardt (1959) * ''Mitteleuropäische Pflanzenwelt: Kräuter und Stauden: eine Auswahl unter Berücksichtigung der in Deutschland geschützten Arten'' (1957) * ''Mitteleuropäische Pflanzenwelt: Sträucher und Bäume: 144 Arten auf 144 Tafeln: eine Auswahl unter Berücksichtigung der in Deutschland geschützten Arten'' (1960) * ''Kräuter und Stauden: 168 Einzeldarstellungen auf 168 Tafeln in 6-8-farbigem Offsetdruck: eine Auswahl unter Berücksichtigung der in Deutschland geschützten Arten'' (1957) * ''Kleinere botanische Veröffentlichungen'' * ''Sträucher und Bäume: 144 Arten auf 144 Tafeln in 7-9-farbigem Offsetdruck''<ref>{{Cite web | title=Sträucher und Bäume : 144 Arten auf 144 Tafeln in 7-9 farbigem Offsetdruck / | url=http://orlabs.oclc.org/identities/np-merxmuller,%20hermann$botaniste%20allemagne$1920%201988/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423162500/http://orlabs.oclc.org/identities/np-merxmuller,%20hermann$botaniste%20allemagne$1920%201988 | access-date=2025-07-05 | archive-date=23 April 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==External links== *[http://botany.si.edu/bdg/pdf/funkyarchive/funkypdf/2009_pr_Bonifacino_etal_Synantherologists.pdf ''A history of research in Compositae'']

==References== {{reflist}} *GRAU, J. (1988): Obituary - Hermann Merxmüller (1920–1988). - Bothalia 18: 123–125.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merxmuller, Hermann}} Category:20th-century German botanists Category:German taxonomists Category:1920 births Category:1988 deaths Category:LMU Munich alumni