Augustus R. Endrés, the most important orchid collector to visit Costa Rica, studied and collected orchids between the end of 1866 and the first months of 1874 in the post-colonial Costa Rica of the Nineteenth century. In seven years, he devoted his main attention to the still unrevealed richness of Orchidaceae, collecting the type specimens for at least one hundred new orchid species. He discovered, described and illustrated with superb and detailed line-drawings thousands of orchid plants, most of which remained still undescribed during his life time.
The results of his activity have still to be properly evaluated, but his contributions to the botany are extraordinary in quantity and quality. He co-authored several species with Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach, who himself described another 22 species based on his collections. Other authors who described new taxa through the study of Endrés' plants were Rudolf Schlechter, Fritz Kränzlin and Carlyle A. Luer.
Research conducted by Lankester Botanical Garden, University of Costa Rica, the Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna, and the Jany Renz Herbarium at the University of Basel revealed the most important biographical data, exploratory routes and botanical material of Augustus R. Endrés.
Read the articles about Endrés' life and his orchidologic work in Central America.
Ossenbach, C., F. Pupulin & R. Jenny
Orchid itineraries od Augustus R. Endrés in Central America: a biographic and geographic sketch
LANKESTERIANA 10(1): 19-47. 2010.
[PDF 13.7 MB]
Pupulin, F., C. Ossenbach, R. Jenny & E. Vitek
Additamenta ad Typos Endresianos Orchidacearum Costaricae
ANNALEN DES NATURHISTORISCHEN MUSEUMS IN WIEN 113B: 133-138. 2012.
[PDF 3.1 MB].
Pupulin, F., C. Ossenbach, R. Jenny & E. Vitek
Typi Orchidacearum ab Augusto R. Endresio in Costa Rica lecti
ANNALEN DES NATURHISTORISCHEN MUSEUMS IN WIEN. SERIE B, BOTANIK UND ZOOLOGIE 112: 265-313. 2011.
[PDF 3.2 MB]
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