Olof Swartz

Olof Swartz
Olof Swartz
Born	September 21, 1760 Norrköping
Died	September 19, 1818 Stockholm
Nationality	Sweden
Fields	botany
Alma mater	University of Uppsala
Doctoral advisor	Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Known for	pteridophytes

Olof Peter Swartz (September 21, 1760, Norrköping, Sweden – September 19, 1818, Stockholm, Sweden) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes. He attended the University of Uppsala where he studied under Carolus Linnaeus the Younger and received his doctorate in 1781.

He first traveled in 1780, to Lapland in the company of several other botanists.^[1] In 1783 he sailed for North America and the West Indies, primarily in the area of Jamaica and Hispaniola, to collect botanical specimens.^[2] His botanilcal collection, of an impressive 6000 specimens, is now held by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, as part of the Regnellian herbarium.^[3] By 1786 he left for London to prepare his collection. There he met Joseph Banks, who was impressed with his knowledge of Botany. He was offered a position with the British East India Company as a travelling physician, but turned it down, and returned to Sweden in 1787. Ten years later he proposed to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (of which he became a member in 1789) the idea of a permanent travel grant, based on the methods he had seen employed by Banks within the British Empire. In 1791 he became Professor Bergianus at the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm.^[4]

Dr. Olof Swartz: drawing of Malaxis umbelliflora

Swartz was the first specialist of orchid taxonomy, who published a critical review of orchid literature and classified the 25 genera that he recognized through his own work. He was also the first to realize that most orchids have one stamen, while slipper orchids have two.^[5]

The genus Swartzia (Caesalpiniaceae, Fabaceae or Leguminosae) was named in his honor by Schreber.

The standard author abbreviation Sw. is used to indicate this individual as the author when citing a botanical name.^[6]

Works

• Nova genera et species plantarum seu prodromus,1788 Botanicus
• Observationes botanicae, 1791
• Icones plantarum incognitarum, 1794-1800
• Flora Indiae occidentalis, 1797-1806
• Synopsis Filicum, 1806
• Summa vegetabilium Scandinaviae, 1814

Notes

1. ^ Olof Swartz. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
2. ^ "Swartz, Olof." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006.
3. ^ Swedish Museum of Natural History; The Regnellian herbarium. Retrieved on June 27, 2006.
4. ^ Bravo, Michael; Sorlin, Sverker (May 1, 2002). Narrating the Arctic. Watson Pub Intl. ISBN 0-88135-385-X. Page 130.
5. ^ Pridgeon, Alec M, et al. (December 16, 1999). Genera Orchidacearum. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850513-2. Page 3.
6. ^ "Author Query". International Plant Names Index. http://www.ipni.org/ipni/authorsearchpage.do. 

External links

Digitised versions of works by Swartz

• BDH Flora Indiae Occidentalis :aucta atque illustrata sive descriptiones plantarum in prodromo recensitarum
• BDH Lichenes Americani : quos partim in Flora Indiae Occidentalis descripsit, partim e regionibus diversis Americae obtinuit Illustrations by Jacob Sturm
• BDHNova genera & species plantarum; seu, Prodromus descriptionum vegetabilium, maximam partem incognitorum quae sub itinere in Indiam Occidentalem annis 1783-87
• BDH Observationes botanicae :quibus plantae Indiae Occidentalis aliaeque Systematis vegetabilium ed. XIV illustrantur earumque characteres passim emendantur
• BDH Svensk botanik

Persondata
Name	Swartz, Olof
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 21, 1760
Place of birth	Norrköping
Date of death	September 19, 1818
Place of death	Stockholm