Alexander von Humboldt
The development of the cactus system
When Europeans first came face to face with cacti, after the discovery of America, they were undoubtedly amazed at such curious plant forms. Nevertheless not many species of cactus were brought back to Europe at first. A few which did arrive, such as Opuntias, very quickly escaped and established themselves wild in the Mediterranean area, and today have all die appearance of indigenous species.
Linnaeus, the great Swedish natural history researcher who introduced the present method of scientific plant and animal nomenclature, knew only 25 species of cactus in 1753. These lie included in the single genus of Cactus. The voyage of Alexander von Humboldt to Mexico and South America, and the voyages of discovery of others, eventually brought cacti to the attention of more and more people.
The Geneva botanist P. de Candolle was able to distinguish 164 species in 1828. Cacti now became increasingly popular as house plants, and for cultivation in greenhouses. Karl Spitzweg's painting of 'die cactus lover' is well known. Gradually large private collections were assembled. The largest of the last century was probably that of the Prince ofSalm- Dyck, who himself described manv new species.
The German doctor Georg Engelmann, who emigrated to America, was the first botanist to travel through the south-west of the United States, where he discovered and described a very large number of new species, especially Opuntias and Echinocerei. In 1898 the Professor of Botany at Berlin, Karl Schumann, wrote his Gesamtbeschreibung der Kahteen, which was the first extensive work dealing widt cacti.
His division ol die plants into three main groups, the sub-families Pcreskioideae, Opuntioideae and Cactoideae (Cereoideae), has not been questioned since that time. Schumann was acquainted with 670 species and defined 21 genera. Almost all columnar cacti were included in the genus Cereus, and only a small number of genera were distinguished among the globular cacti. The bulk of the species was encompassed by just two genera: Echinocactm and Mammillaria.
The second major work on cacti was produced in America. The botanists Nathaniel L. Britton, director of the Botanical Gardens of New York, and Joseph N. Rose travelled through Mexico, the United States and several South American countries. They observed many species in their natural habitat, and were able to collect them.
This was the richest collection of material ever assembled, and resulted in their four-volume work The Cactaceae. Britton and Rose sub-divided many of the earlier, more or less artificial genera into smaller more natural ones.
These new genera were based principally on die flower formation rather than on the externa form of the plants. The work of Britton and Rose became the springboard for all later cactus systems, although the 124 genera they established were considered to be too narrowly defined by many people. In general terms their closely defined genera only gained general acceptance after die Second World War.
The earlier names coined by Schumann remained in use for a long time, especially within the European cactus trade. Clearly the earlier divisions according to external form had been of greater practical value, because it was easier to classify non-flowering plants. Now it was only possible to establish the genus of plants when they produced flowers. Britton and Rose also sub-divided the Cactoideac into eight simple and dear sub-groups.
When Europeans first came face to face with cacti, after the discovery of America, they were undoubtedly amazed at such curious plant forms. Nevertheless not many species of cactus were brought back to Europe at first. A few which did arrive, such as Opuntias, very quickly escaped and established themselves wild in the Mediterranean area, and today have all die appearance of indigenous species.
Linnaeus, the great Swedish natural history researcher who introduced the present method of scientific plant and animal nomenclature, knew only 25 species of cactus in 1753. These lie included in the single genus of Cactus. The voyage of Alexander von Humboldt to Mexico and South America, and the voyages of discovery of others, eventually brought cacti to the attention of more and more people.
The Geneva botanist P. de Candolle was able to distinguish 164 species in 1828. Cacti now became increasingly popular as house plants, and for cultivation in greenhouses. Karl Spitzweg's painting of 'die cactus lover' is well known. Gradually large private collections were assembled. The largest of the last century was probably that of the Prince ofSalm- Dyck, who himself described manv new species.
The German doctor Georg Engelmann, who emigrated to America, was the first botanist to travel through the south-west of the United States, where he discovered and described a very large number of new species, especially Opuntias and Echinocerei. In 1898 the Professor of Botany at Berlin, Karl Schumann, wrote his Gesamtbeschreibung der Kahteen, which was the first extensive work dealing widt cacti.
His division ol die plants into three main groups, the sub-families Pcreskioideae, Opuntioideae and Cactoideae (Cereoideae), has not been questioned since that time. Schumann was acquainted with 670 species and defined 21 genera. Almost all columnar cacti were included in the genus Cereus, and only a small number of genera were distinguished among the globular cacti. The bulk of the species was encompassed by just two genera: Echinocactm and Mammillaria.
The second major work on cacti was produced in America. The botanists Nathaniel L. Britton, director of the Botanical Gardens of New York, and Joseph N. Rose travelled through Mexico, the United States and several South American countries. They observed many species in their natural habitat, and were able to collect them.
This was the richest collection of material ever assembled, and resulted in their four-volume work The Cactaceae. Britton and Rose sub-divided many of the earlier, more or less artificial genera into smaller more natural ones.
These new genera were based principally on die flower formation rather than on the externa form of the plants. The work of Britton and Rose became the springboard for all later cactus systems, although the 124 genera they established were considered to be too narrowly defined by many people. In general terms their closely defined genera only gained general acceptance after die Second World War.
The earlier names coined by Schumann remained in use for a long time, especially within the European cactus trade. Clearly the earlier divisions according to external form had been of greater practical value, because it was easier to classify non-flowering plants. Now it was only possible to establish the genus of plants when they produced flowers. Britton and Rose also sub-divided the Cactoideac into eight simple and dear sub-groups.
