Die ersten Listen und Aufsammlungen von Pflanzen aus Alaska – Georg Wilhelm Stellers botanische Arbeiten in Amerika

Abstract

AbstractThe first plant lists and collections from Alaska – Georg Wilhelm Steller's botanical work in America.Georg Wilhelm Steller was the first botanist in Alaska. As a member of the 2nd Kamchatka Expedition under Vitus Bering, he botanized for six hours on July 20, 1741 (resp. on July 31 after the modern calendar), on the western shore of Kayak Island and some hours on August 30–31 (resp. September 10–11), 1741, on Nagai Island, Alaska.The result of these short excursions were 3 manuscripts: the „Catalogus plantarum intra sex horas…”︁, the „Mantissa plantarum minus aut plane incognitarum”︁, and the „Catalogus seminum anno 1741 in America septemtrionali…”︁. (Steller's „Cat(alogus) Plant(arum) Amer(icae)”︁ which Gmelin had at hand when writing his „Flora sibirica”︁ is hitherto unknown.).While the first of these manuscripts was already published by Stejneger (1936) and analyzed by Thilenius (1992), the second and third are first published, translated and analysed here. (Copies of the manuscripts were kindly made available by Dr. W. Hintzsche and the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.) Furthermore, a first translation and new interpretation is presented also for the „Catalogus plantarum”︁. By comparison with the two other manuscripts, modern literature and with the help of the old botanical literature that Steller used on his journey, most of Steller's plant names could be translated into modern botanical nomenclature. A recent plant collection from Kayak by U. Wannhoff, which is also published here, was extremely helpful.Whereas Thilenius concludes that less then 10 percent of Steller's 143 names in the „Catalogus plantarum”︁ are correct, the new analysis reveals that most of the names refer precisely to plants that grow