Russian Botanist Сarl Johann Maximowicz in Japan: Japanese Herbarium Collection in the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE)

Abstract

Russian botanist Carl Johann (Ivanovich) Maximowicz came to Japan as an experienced and known scientist. He worked here more than three years (1860–1864) and brought significant botanical collections to St. Petersburg. He decided to write the critical “Japanese Flora” and wanted to gather all possible herbarium materials. In addition to his own herbarium he used other earlier materials already existing in St. Petersburg, as well as materials received from different collectors (Tschonoski, Siebold, American (Wright, Small), English (Wilford, Oldham), French (Savatier), Japanese and others). Scientific communication with European botanists, based on a common interest in the Japanese flora, helped him to receive valuable herbarium collections from them. In the 1880’s, he established scientific correspondence and started a dialogue with Japanese botanists, who sent him their herbarium materials for determination. Many Japanese botanists looked to him as their teacher and surely, we can say that Maximowicz is one of the founders of the Japanese school of plant systematic, thus greatly influencing the development of science in Japan. Thus, from 1860–1890 Maximowicz’s effort created the most valuable herbarium collection of plants from Japan, the so-called “Japanese Maximowicz’s herbarium collection”, which is kept in the Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE) in St. Petersburg. The collection is original, unique and critical for modern systematics studies.