Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch ( 1806 - 1872 )

In reading of the lives of influential men in the field of botany , one becomes aware of an odd coincidence ; a large number of them gave up promising careers in other fields in order to devote themselves to plants . Many chose to wander and explore the far reaches of the world , sending their new discoveries to botanical gardens and educational institutions .Their personal preferences were for life in the wilds, unhindered and at liberty to blaze their own paths. Others preferred the herbarium approach to plant study-cataloguing , systematizing ,and publishing their results .Few such individuals had the oppertunity and backing to do both- nor the combination of scientific aptitude and self -descipline to do both-nor the combination of scientific aptitude and self-discipline along with great physical stamina and courage . One such individual who did possess those qualities , and who distinguished himself magnificently in the annals of orchid discovery ,was an Australian physician named Friedrich Welwitch,one of the earliest botanists to systematically explore the virgin territory of West Africa . His orchid discoveries , as well as a large number of botanical " curiosities " found in Angola and Benguela ,were probably the most rewarding and enlightening finds since that period when Australia was first opened to botanizing .

Friedrich Martin Josef Welwitsch was born at Marisaal , carinthia ,Australia , on 5 February 1806 ,one of a large family . His father was the owner of an extensive farm and surveyor of a district in Carinthia . It was due to his father's influence that the boy acquired his first taste for botany because , while accompanying the elder Welwitsch in his native plants and identify them by means of an old herbal . A town apothecary also assisted him in his early botanical studies.

When the time came for his higher education ,he was sent to the University of Vienna and enrolled in law school ; he fared poorly in legal studies of Vienna and enrolled in law school ; he fared poorly in legal studies ,however , as his irresistible tendency toward natural science was too distracting . His father was displeased and withdraw the young student's allowance ,leaving him to fend for himself . For a short time thereafter he supported himself as a theatre critic ,but with a view to more congenial living he entered the medical faculty of the university, at the same time pursuing the study of botany with increased fevor. He spent much time in the Botanical Museum at Vienna and soon became well known to professor Eduard Fenzl and other botanists for his love of collecting , his scientific knowledge of native flora , and his merit as a contributor to the accurate knowledge of the flora of the Vienna Basin and lower Australia . His first publication, Observations on the Cryptogamic Flora of Lower Australia . His first publication , Observations on the Cryptogamic Flora of Lower Australia ,appeared in the Beitrage zur Landeskunde von Wien in 1834, winning for him a prize given by the mayor of the city.

He graduated in medicine in 1836 , his thesis being A synopsis of the Nostochineae of Lower Australia . Shortly thereafter his life's course began to define itself . Having attend a meeting of the German Natuaralists' Association , his thoughts became fixed on foreign travel , and in a short while his dreams became real.

In 1839 Welwitsch was commissioned by the Wurtemberg Unio Itineraria to collect the plants of the Azires and Cape Verde Islands . He accordingly left Vienna in the summer of that year and arrived in Lisbon in July. He unfortunately found himself unavoidably detained there(no reason or explanation given in available references) and so made use of his time by making an extensive collection of the plants of the district. So attracted did he become by the country that he ultimately made arrangements to reamin in Portugal through the winter istead of proceeding to the Atlantic islands. He never returned to Australia .

He remained in Lisbon as a botany teacher , having charge at different times of the Botanic Gardens at Lisbon and Coimbra . In addition , he supervised the gardens of the duke of Palmella throughout Portugal . All the while he explored the country and made large botanical collections. Over 56,000 specimens were distributed to the Unio Itineraria , and complete series were deposited in the herbaria contained over 9000 species ,each represented by a large series of well-preserved specimens selected to show all stages and conditions of growth .

In 1850 the Portuguese government , under Queen Dona Maria , resolved to send a scientific expedition to its West Africa possessions , a double purpose being to obtain information on the natural products of the region and to develop its economic interests . Welwitsch was selected for his important mission , and in August 1853 he set out for Loanda , the capital of Angola , fully equipped , accredited with full powers by the government , and with complete liberty to act at his own disposal . He reached Angola at the end of September ,at once beginning a series of collecting excursions. He devoted nearly a year to the investigation (his travels forming a huge triangle with 120 miles of coastline as base), ultimately returning to Loanda . Thereupon he set out for the interior , following the Bengo and reaching the district of Golungo-Alto , where he established his new base for further explorations.

He spent two years in arduous and exhaustive search, forging through almost impenetrable forests . During this time he suffered repeatedly and severely from fevers , scurvy, and ulcerated legs. His enthusiasm never waned , however , and he assiduously containued his work. During this period he made the acquintance of Dr. David Livingstone ,then (October 1854) on his way to Loanda , having traveled the whole distance from Cape Town. The two explorers spent quite some time together , and their meeting convinced Welwitsch to abandon a plan he had previously entertained of trying to make his way across the continent to the Portuguese possession on the east coast-a task which Livingstone accomplished during the next two years.

Welwitsch's further explorations took him to southwest Africa , in an arid plateau region inland from Cape Negro , where he amassed an awesome collection of materials , orchids not the least among them. One interesting discovery , a terrestrial orchid not the least among them . One interesting discovery , a terrestrial orchid allied to Lissochilus , possessed broad leaves nearly five feet long, a flower stem ten to twelve feet high , and a spike of blossoms about 1 1/2 feet long bearing twenty to twenty five rose-colored flowers .This was probably the largest and most magnificent of all terrestrial orchids hitherto discovered . He additionally discovered over sixty other species , a number of which were later named in his honor: Liparis welwitschii , Eulophia welwitschii , Lissochilus welwitschii, Listrostachys welwitschii, Eulophia welwitschii, brachycory this welwitschii, Habenaria welwitschii, and Disa welwitchii.

After seven years of wandering the wildest regions of West Africa , Welwitsch returned to Lisbon in 1861. His collections were undoubtedly the earliest of any importance made in southern tropical Africa , the orchids including many first collected by him , a number of which have not been rocollected since. In addition to the specimens being well collected and preserved , his locality and other biological notes were exceptionally comprehensive for the period in which he worked and often still provide the only information available on the specific points mentioned .

In Lisbon he commenced a critical examination of his African material . He discovered , however , that there was great lack of comparative collections ,literature , and qualified botanists in Portugal , and the task of naming and arranging his specimens became increasingly difficult . It was obvious that he would need references at one of the great scientific centers, and so , with a grant from the Portuguese government ,Welwitsch took his collections to London in 1863. There he worked steadily from early morning till late at night , frequently suffering from recurrent fevers and other ailments resulting from his years in Africa . All his work,though, was characterized by precision and completeness . Despite this excellence, however , he never became well known in London's scientific circles , and in some cases he was probably underrated because of his difficulty in expressing himself clearly in English. For this reason he was somewhat withdrawn . He ,nevertheless, kept himself up to date on all that was published in botanical science , industriously naming and arranging his collections in accordance .

After two years in London , word reached him that malicious rumors were being circultated in botanical circles in Portugal to the effect that he was selling his Angolan collections and living in sumtuous luxury. Without a formal hearing of any kind, the Portuguese government discontinued his substistence allowance six months after the attack. Welwitsch became embittered and , as a result , develop a susupecious and averse reaction to society in general . But he continued to labour at his collections , alond and abosorbed in his work.

In the summer of 1872 a fire in the house where he lodged scorched and blackened some of his collections. This incident caused him a severe nervous disorder . A painful illness followed ,lasting about six weeks , and on the evening of 20 october he died , working to the last on his valuable African collections.

His herbarium was bequeathed to the British Museum , but this led to prolonged litigation on the part of the Portuguese government ,ending in a copromise whereby the British Museum received one set of Welwitsch's plants. Some went to Portugal , and others were distributed to various European herbaria .

In the early days the importance of his collections was fully recognized ,but because of the division of the collections it was not easy thereafter to examine the material as a whole . This led to the collections being neglected for some time afterward . Later , as the wide geographical ranges of African orchids were more and more recognized , the identity of the Welwitsch gatherings often became a crucial matter, and the assurance of accuracy in the taxonamy of African orchids made it almost absolutely necessarily to consult the Welwitsh material. Many of his orchid findings , thought formerly to be restricted to Angola ,became known to occur over wide areas of tropical and South Africa as well .

Welwitsch was well recognized for his achievements by the bestowal of four or five orders. He was a member of the Leopoldo- Corolinian Academy , a fellow of the Zoologico-Botanical Society of Vienna , a fellow of the Linnean Society , and a member of other scientific organizations.

Among his important published works on the flora of Africa are sertum Angolense in the Transactions of the Linnean Society , 1869; a catalogue of the African plants collected by Welwitsch ,prepared by W.P. Hiern and others and published by the British Museum , 1896-1901; and his contributions to Professor Daniel Oliver's Flora of Tropical Africa . Welwitsch's orchids were never published collectively in any single work,but a careful perusal of the literature mentioned conveys the magnitude and importance of his pioneer discoveries in tropical Africa.

References

Curti's Botanical Magazine . 1931. Dedications and Portraits 1827-1927. Compiled by Earnest and Wm.Cuthbertson . London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd .

Gardener's Chronicle. 1872. Obituary . No.43.

Gardener's Chronicle . 1865. Notices of books -No.1.

Gray,Asa. Scientific papers -1889. American jour.of Sciences and Arts 396, 3rd ser.

Journal of Botany . 1873. 11: 1-11.

Leopoldina . 1872.8: 10,11.

Thiselton -Dyer ,W.T. 1898. Flora of Tropical Africa . Preface of Vol. 7: Hydrocharideae to Liliaceae.