Christian Friedrich Lessing

Christian Friedrich Lessing

Christian Friedrich Lessing (August 10, 1809 - 1862) was a German botanist who was a native of Groß Wartenberg, Niederschlesien. He was a brother to painter Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808-1880), and a grandnephew of poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781).

Lessing was a botanical authority on the plant family Asteraceae, and in 1832 published an influential treatise on Asteraceae called Synopsis generum Compositarum. He performed extensive botanical research in Siberia, and died in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk in 1862.

The plant genus Lessingia from the family Asteraceae is named in his honor.

Selected publications

  • Reise durch Norwegen nach den Loffoden durch Lappland und Schweden, 1831
  • Synopsis generum Compositarum, earumque dispositionis novae tentamen, monographiis multarum Capensium interjectis, 1832

References

  • This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.