Karl Theodor Rümpler

Karl Theodor Rümpler(1817 inAlterstedt– 23 May 1891 inErfurt) was a Germanbotanistandhorticulturist.

He developed a passion for botany in his youth, and studiednatural sciencesat the gymnasium inMühlhausen,where one of his classmates wasWilhelm Gerhard Walpers.He later took classes in botany,zoologyand foreign languages at theUniversity of Berlin.Beginning in 1852 he was associated with theGärtner-Lehr-Anstalt zu Erfurt(a gardener-teaching institution inErfurt) as an instructor and inspector.

In 1860 he became secretary of theErfurter Gartenbauvereins(Erfurt Horticultural Association) as well as secretary of the county agricultural association. From 1873 onward, he was director of the newly established agricultural school in Erfurt.

He is remembered for his investigations of the familyCactaceae,and was thetaxonomic authorityof numerouscactusspecies.In 1886, he published a new edition of Karl Friedrich Förster's 1846 "Handbuch der Cacteenkunde in ihrem ganzen Umfange".

Selected works

• Erfurt's Land- und Gartenbau in seinen wichtigsten Entwickelungs-Momenten,1865 – Erfurt's agriculture and horticulture in its most important moments of development.
• Die Gartenblumen, ihre Beschreibung, Anzucht und Pflege,1876 – The flower garden, description, cultivation and care.
• Illustriertes Gartenbau-Lexikon. Unter Mitwirkung zahlreicher Fachmänner aus Wissenschaft und Praxis,1882 – Illustrated horticulture, etc.
• Karl Friedrich Förster's Handbuch der Cacteenkunde in ihrem ganzen Umfange,1886 (2 volumes) – Karl Friedrich Förster's handbook of Cactaceae in its whole extent.
• Die Sukkulenten (Fettplanzen und Kakteen): Beschreibung, Abbildung und Kultur derselben,1892 (withKarl Schumann) –Succulent plants(succulents and cacti): description, illustration and culture.