Ondokuzuncu Yüzyıl Sonlarında Anadolu'da Bir Bitki Toplayıcısı: Paul Sintenis (1847-1907)

Year 2004, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 1 - 13, 01.12.2004

Asuman Baytop

Abstract

Paul Ernst Emil Sintenis  (1847­1907) is  a German pharmacist educated at  Görlitz and later at Breslau. After practising his profession at Bolkenhain and later at  Brandenburg a.H., he decided to become a plant collector. His passion for collecting  led him to Cyprus in 1880; to Istria, Dalmatia and North Italy in 1881; to Puerto Rico  in 1884­1887; to Macedonia, Thessalia and Thasos in 1891, to Greece in 1896; to Iran  in 1900­1901. He made six expeditions to Anatolia between 1883 and 1894.

In 1883 he visited Çanakkale, Troas, mount Ida and Assos. He collected not less  than 1350 specimens.

In 1888  he came to S.Anatolia. He landed at Mersin at  the end of February, travelled eastwards  up  to Mardin, collecting through the provinces  of İçel, Hatay, Gaziantep, Urfa, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır and Siirt, returned and left the country from  İskenderun or Mersin on Mid­August, with a collection of at  least 1464 specimens  (Cullen 1963).

In 1889, he made a third expedition to Anatolia. He arrived at Trabzon at the beginning of April, collected within the provinces of Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Erzincan, Malatya and Elazığ, and returned from Trabzon at about mid­August. His collection  comprises at least 1726 specimens (Cullen 1963).

In 1890, he again came to Trabzon in April, visited Gümüşhane, Erzincan and  Elazığ, but concentrated his gatherings in Erzincan, mainly in the vicinity of Kemaliye. He returned to Trabzon at the end of August. His specimen numbers run from ca.2069  to ca.3492 (Cullen 1963).

In 1892, he landed at İnebolu (N.Anatolia) in April, went up to Tosya via Küre and Kastamonu, and returned to İnebolu  with a collection numbering from 3660  to  5349 (Cullen 1963).

In 1894, he made his sixth and final expedition to N.E.Anatolia. He landed at  Trabzon, came to Gümüşhane from where he returned with a rich collection of nearly  2300 specimens (Cullen 1963).

In all, the Anatolian collection of Sintenis  may be estimated to ca. 10.000  specimens.

The presence in Flora of Turkey of 4 specimens collected from Istanbul proves  that Sintenis arrived to and departed from Istanbul, during his travels of 1889 to 1894. The citation of a fifth specimen from Istanbul (vol. 11:19) is  doubtful  and needs  revision.

A specimen from İzmir, which is erroneously dated in the Flora as 1800, reveals  that Sintenis has been in İzmir on his way to Cyprus in 1880, or to Mersin in 1888.

Sintenis did not describe plants. He put his material at the disposal of German  botanists  who identified, named and published them. These botanists  were mainly  J.F.Freyn (1845­1903), J.F.N.  Bornmüller (1862­1948), H.K.Haussknecht  (1838­ 1903) and P.F.A.Ascherson (1834­1913). Among them, Freyn often added Sintenis’s  name after his, when naming a new species.

Sintenis  collected a great  number and a great  diversity of plants. His sets are widely distributed to a large number of public herbaria. According to Vegter (1986) and Holmgren et al.(1990), 78 herbaria located in 27 countries on four continents hold  his  collections. Turkish specimens  are to be found in 37  herbaria of 19  countries  (Vegter 1986). The Herbarium of the Faculty of Sciences  of Ankara University is  among them (Vegter 1986). It holds 30 Anatolian specimens of Sintenis. His original  collection is in Lund and contains about 100.000 specimens (Vegter 1986).

The number of Sintenis’s  Anatolian specimens  cited in P.H.Davis’s Flora of Turkey is  2900, from which 240  are type specimens. With the rich material he gathered from Anatolia, he has  been much helpful, as  a keen plant  collector, in the advancement of our knowledge of the Turkish flora and the flora of S.W. Asia.

Keywords

Anadolu bitkileri, botanik geziler, botanik tarihi, gezginler, seyyahlar, Sintenis, Türkiye florası

A plant collector in Anatolia at the end of the nineteenth century: Paul Sintenis (1847­1907)

Abstract

Paul Ernst Emil Sintenis  (1847­1907) is  a German pharmacist educated at 
Görlitz and later at Breslau. After practising his profession at Bolkenhain and later at 
Brandenburg a.H., he decided to become a plant collector. His passion for collecting 
led him to Cyprus in 1880; to Istria, Dalmatia and North Italy in 1881; to Puerto Rico 
in 1884­1887; to Macedonia, Thessalia and Thasos in 1891, to Greece in 1896; to Iran 
in 1900­1901. He made six expeditions to Anatolia between 1883 and 1894.

In 1883 he visited Çanakkale, Troas, mount Ida and Assos. He collected not less 
than 1350 specimens.

In 1888  he came to S.Anatolia. He landed at Mersin at  the end of February,
travelled eastwards  up  to Mardin, collecting through the provinces  of İçel, Hatay, Gaziantep, Urfa, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır and Siirt, returned and left the country from 
İskenderun or Mersin on Mid­August, with a collection of at  least 1464 specimens 
(Cullen 1963).

In 1889, he made a third expedition to Anatolia. He arrived at Trabzon at the
beginning of April, collected within the provinces of Trabzon, Gümüşhane, Erzincan, Malatya and Elazığ, and returned from Trabzon at about mid­August. His collection 
comprises at least 1726 specimens (Cullen 1963).

In 1890, he again came to Trabzon in April, visited Gümüşhane, Erzincan and 
Elazığ, but concentrated his gatherings in Erzincan, mainly in the vicinity of Kemaliye. He returned to Trabzon at the end of August. His specimen numbers run from ca.2069 
to ca.3492 (Cullen 1963).

In 1892, he landed at İnebolu (N.Anatolia) in April, went up to Tosya via Küre
and Kastamonu, and returned to İnebolu  with a collection numbering from 3660  to 
5349 (Cullen 1963).

In 1894, he made his sixth and final expedition to N.E.Anatolia. He landed at 
Trabzon, came to Gümüşhane from where he returned with a rich collection of nearly 
2300 specimens (Cullen 1963).

In all, the Anatolian collection of Sintenis  may be estimated to ca. 10.000 
specimens.

The presence in Flora of Turkey of 4 specimens collected from Istanbul proves 
that Sintenis arrived to and departed from Istanbul, during his travels of 1889 to 1894.
The citation of a fifth specimen from Istanbul (vol. 11:19) is  doubtful  and needs 
revision.

A specimen from İzmir, which is erroneously dated in the Flora as 1800, reveals 
that Sintenis has been in İzmir on his way to Cyprus in 1880, or to Mersin in 1888.

Sintenis did not describe plants. He put his material at the disposal of German 
botanists  who identified, named and published them. These botanists  were mainly 
J.F.Freyn (1845­1903), J.F.N.  Bornmüller (1862­1948), H.K.Haussknecht  (1838­
1903) and P.F.A.Ascherson (1834­1913). Among them, Freyn often added Sintenis’s 
name after his, when naming a new species.

Sintenis  collected a great  number and a great  diversity of plants. His sets are
widely distributed to a large number of public herbaria. According to Vegter (1986)
and Holmgren et al.(1990), 78 herbaria located in 27 countries on four continents hold 
his  collections. Turkish specimens  are to be found in 37  herbaria of 19  countries 
(Vegter 1986). The Herbarium of the Faculty of Sciences  of Ankara University is 
among them (Vegter 1986). It holds 30 Anatolian specimens of Sintenis. His original 
collection is in Lund and contains about 100.000 specimens (Vegter 1986).

The number of Sintenis’s  Anatolian specimens  cited in P.H.Davis’s Flora of
Turkey is  2900, from which 240  are type specimens. With the rich material he
gathered from Anatolia, he has  been much helpful, as  a keen plant  collector, in the
advancement of our knowledge of the Turkish flora and the flora of S.W. Asia.

Keywords

Anatolian plants, botanical expeditions, flora of Turkey, history of botany, Sintenis, travelers

References

• -