Johannes Hedwig, known as the father of bryology, was the first scientist to recognise the diversity of mosses. Samples and engravings from his herbarium and his historical work will be presented.
Johannes Hedwig (1730-1799) is one of the founding fathers of modern bryology. He kept a perfectly organised herbarium, described 82 mosses that were new to science and considerably increased the number of moss genera used at the time, thus beginning the process of scientific recognition of the diversity of mosses. In addition to these taxonomic contributions, he revolutionised the bryological thinking of his time by detailing the different morphological structures of mosses observed under the microscope. His original illustrations accompany his works and bear witness to his observational skills and illustrative talent.

Discover the wealth of our collections and research projects during the “Variations botaniques” series. our trademark guided tours carried out in the company of our experts (botanist, curators, horticulturists or researchers).

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