- Johannes Elias Teijsmann
Johannes Elias Teijsmann (
June 1 ,1808 —June 22 ,1882 ) was abotanist and plant collector. He was born inArnhem ,Netherlands .Teijsmann travelled to
Java in 1830 as Gardener ("hortulanus") of Governor General van den Bosch. He was appointed the Curator of the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens the following year, a post he held until 1869. He took part in numerous important botanical expeditions especially to theSunda Islands , but also throughout theMalay Archipelago ; Teijsmann also was part of a Dutch fact-finding mission toSiam (presentlyThailand ). Among many other things, he is famous - or ought to be - for stimulating the introduction of thecassava (from the island ofBantam , nearSumatra ) as a food source to alleviate prevalent famines in the thenDutch Indies , and also for his efforts (together with his collaborator Hasskarl) with regard to the cultivation of thecinchona tree (fromPeru ) for the production ofquinine to treatmalaria (ca. 1852/1854). For his bitter controversy with J.E. de Vrij andFranz Wilhelm Junghuhn about the relative merits of the various species of "Cinchona " ("C. calisaya" versus "C. pahudiana") see the successive issues (from 1862) of "Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië". His personal interest in palm trees led him to introduce toIndonesia theoil palm (fromWest Africa ) which is until the present highly important to much economy in the isles.Teijsmann died in 1882 in
Buitenzorg (now Bogor),Java ; in recognition of his great service to "'s Lands Plantentuin", a small monument was erected for him by his friends soon after his death in what is now called the Medan Teijsmann in the Garden (Kebun Raya Bogor).The genus "
Teysmannia " is named in his honour, together with several plant species. He was also commemorated in the periodical "Teysmannia", which was published between 1890 and 1922. In 1925, it was incorporated into "De Indische Culturen-Teysmannia".His surname is sometimes spelled "Teysmann", although he himself always spelled it "Teijsmann"; his correspondence was voluminous and much of it is still extant and awaits an edtior.
References
* [http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/FMCollectors/T/TeijsmannJE.htm Nationaal Herbarium Nederland: Johannes Elias Teijsmann]
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