Abstract
Personal names (eponyms) of real or fictitious people can be found both in botanical and zoological nomenclature ever since Linnaeus's reform efforts (and earlier too) – yet they were never uncontroversial. The same applies for scientific chemical nomenclature where the situation is more complex because besides systematic names, semi-systematic, and even non-scientific (trivial) names such as Glauber's salt or ammonia (both derived from eponyms), are officially accepted. One of the semi-systematic names is kaempferol, the designation of a natural dyestuff (flavonoid) that occurs in numerous plants, among them Kaempferia galanga. The course of the discovery and name-giving process for this organic compound is traced, elucidating that not only Engelbert Kaempfer was involved, but a whole series of natural scientists.
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