Title: Martius and Flora Brasiliensis, names not to be forgotten

Biography:

Joao Vicente Ganzarolli de Oliveira, PhD, is senior professor and researcher of the Centre of Reference in Assistive Technology of the Tércio Pacitti Institute of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (CRTA-NCE/UFRJ), Brazil. He is the author of books and articles on Disability Studies, History of Culture, Geography, Aesthetics and Philosophy in general. Often, he delivers lectures on these subjects, in Brazil and abroad. He also takes part in projects aimed at providing better living conditions for the disabled. has been serving as invited editorial board member of many reputed journals.

Abstract

This study focuses the life and work of the German botanist and explorer Karl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794/1868), notably his Flora Brasiliensis. Flora Brasiliensis is an unrivalled attempt to classify the plants (mostly angiosperms) of Brazil. As we all know, without plants, there would be neither irrational animals, nor us, who are animals too. In Amazonian rainforests alone, whose unparalleled biodiversity was diligently studied by Martius in loco during a whole year (1819-1820), lives one in ten known species of our planet. Notwithstanding, a complete edition of the Flora Brasiliensis still does not exist in Brazil, and most of its population never heard about it. Even the distinguished Nouveau dictionnaire des oeuvres des tous les temps et tous les pays ([New dictionary of written works of all times and all countries], Paris, Laffont/Bompiani) makes absolutely no mention of Martius’ master piece in the field of Botanics. It is high time to save the Flora Brasiliensis from oblivion, and the second 2nd European Plant Science Conference, to be held in 2019, seems to me a perfect occasion for it, since this year we also celebrate the 200^th anniversary of Martius journey to the Amazonian rain forest.