(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 1: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement I)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 8: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement II)

Born: 1781, Boncourt, Champagne, France. Died: 1838, Berlin, Germany.

career:

Emigrated with his parents as refugees to Prussia in 1790; he entered the military service and started his study of natural history at Berlin in 1812. He was Botanist of the expedition of Kotzebue at the expense of Prince Romanoff, and was assisted by Dr Eschscholz (see there and sub L. Choris). He ended his life as Custodian of the Herbarium at Berlin- Dahlem.

The genus Chamissoa Kunth was named in his honour.

Collecting localities:

Voyage in the ‘Ruri(c)k’, 1815-18.¹ cf. also sub L.J.Y. Choris. Sailing from Kronstadt (July 30, 1815); via Copenhagen, Teneriffe, Brazil, Chili, the Oster (= Easter) and Romanzoff (= Toamotu) Islands, Kamschatka, California, Sandwich Isls, Radack (= Marshall Islands), St Laurens Isl., Sandwich Isls, Marianas (Gua(ha)m Isl.) (Nov. 24, 1817); Philippines:² Luzon, at Cavite (Dec. 17, 1817-Jan. 28, 1818), Tierra alta, trips in the vicinity of Cavite and Manila and to Taal Volcano (Jan. 12-19); back via St Helena etc., to Petersburg (arriving Aug. 3).

collections:

Herb. Imp. Acad. St Petersb. (= Acad. Sci. Leningrad [LE]): main set, comprising about 10 to 12000 nos of the whole voyage (purch. 1841), and grasses with Trinius’s Agrostotheca (pres. 1841) [LE]; dupl. in Herb. Berl. [B]: ± 100 species from Luzon; Herb. Kiel [KIEL]; Herb. Munich (with Herb. Zuccarini [M]); Herb. Martius (= Brussels [BR]) (85);³ Herb. Lindemann (U.S.S.R. [LECB]): 319 nos; Herb. Leiden [L]; Herb. Vienna (with Herb. Reichenbach [W]): orchids of the voyage; Herb. Hamburg [HBG]: Algae of the voyage; Herb. Decand. (Geneva [G]). Only a few numbers in Herb. Bot. Gard. St Petersb. (= Leningrad [LE]).⁴

According to Kreutzer⁵ plants of his also in Herb. Hooker (= Kew [K]) and Jussieu (= Paris [P]). He exchanged duplicates with Eschscholz (see there) who benefitted by the transaction, as the latter collected but few plants.

The botanical results of the expedition were published.⁶

literature:

(1) A. von Chamisso: ‘Reise um die Welt mit der Romanzoffischen Entdeckungsexpedition in den Jahren 1815-1818 auf der Brigg Rurik, Capitän Otto von Kotzebue (I, Tagebuch; II, Bemerkungen and Ansichten)’ (Leipzig 1836, 2 vols); ‘Notices respecting the botany of certain countries visited by the Russian Voyage of discovery under the command of Capt. Kotzebue’ (transl. from the German ed. of the voyage in Hook. Bot. Misc. 1, 1830, p. 305-323).

O. von Kotzebue: ‘Entdeckungsreise in die Südsee and nach der Berings-Strasse ... unternommen in ... 1815-1818 ... auf dem Schiffe Rurick’ (Weimar 1821, 3 vols; vol. 3 containing the natural history); transl. into Dutch (Amsterdam 1822, 3 vols).

L. Choris: ‘Voyage pittoresque autour du monde, avec des portraits des sauvages d’Amérique, d’Asie, d’Afrique, et des files du grand Océan; des paysages, des vues maritimes et plusieurs objets d’histoire naturelle’ (Paris 1822; the author accompanied the expedition as a painter; with descriptions of Chamisso).

For itinerary in Alaska cf. Bot. Not. 1940, p. 298-299.

(2) cf. Linnaea 1, 1826, p. 7 and Merrill in Philip. Journ. Sci. C. Bot. 3, 1908, p. 88.

(3) cf. Lasègue, Mus. Bot. Deless., 1845, p.337; and Eichler, Das Herbarium Martii, 1869, p. 11.

(4) cf. Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 9, 1888, p. 434.

(5) K.J. Kreutzer, Das Herbar etc., Wien 1864, p. 169.

(6) G.F. Kaulfuss: ‘Enumeratio Filicum, quas in itinere circa terram legit cl. Ad. de Chamisso adjectis in omnia harum Plantarum genera permultasque species non satis cognitas vel novas animadversionibus’ (Lipsiae 1824).

‘De plantis expeditione speculatoria Romanzoffiana observatis rationem dicunt Ad. de Chamisso et D. de Schlechtendal’ (in Linnaea 1-10, 1826-36).

biographical data:

Linnaea 1839, p. 93-112 (transl. in Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot. 2, 1843, p. 481-491); Pritzel, Thes. Lit. Bot., 1872; Verb. Bot. Ver.Brandenburg 1881, p.1-4; Wittrock, Icon. Bot. Berg., 1903, p. 122, and l.c. 2, 1905, p. 121; J.D. Milner, Catalogue portraits in Kew, 1906, p. 27; Beih. Bot. Centr. Bl. 2. Abt. 36, 1918, p. 270-306; 2 portr. in J.H. Verduyn den Boer, Botanists at the Cape 1, 1929; portr. in E.O. Essig, A history of entomology, New York 1931, fig. 187; Backer, Verkl. Woordenb., 1936; Occ. Pap. Calif. Ac. Sc. no 20, 1943, p. 21-27; G. Schmid: ‘Chamisso als Naturforscher’ (Leipzig 1942).

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