Maarten J. M. Christenhusz


Dr Maarten Joost Maria Christenhusz is a Dutch botanist, natural historian and photographer.

Career

He was born in Enschede, the Netherlands, received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Utrecht University in Biology, and earned his PhD from the University of Turku, Finland in 2007. He is an authority on fern, gymnosperm and angiosperm classification, and is a compiler of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. He has specialised in Marattiaceae and he described many species of Danaea, including Danaea kalevala from the Lesser Antilles. A species of Moraceae, Dorstenia christenhuszii was named in honour of its discoverer. He wrote several books and over 200 academic articles on a variety of natural history subjects. He was editor for the Linnean Society until 2023. He lives in Gwynedd, Wales, UK.
He is the former chief editor and initiator of the botanical journal Phytotaxa, an associate editor of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society and emeritus chief editor of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. He has an interest in island biogeography, botanical gardens, floristic treatments, horticulture, photography, natural history and taxonomy.
He works as a botanical consultant. He is the lead author of an encyclopedia of vascular plants called Plants of the World.

Honours

  • President emeritus of the International Association of Pteridologists

    Selected bibliography

  • APG IV An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 181: 1–20.
  • M. Christenhusz & R. Govaerts Uitgestorven: op plantenjacht rond de wereld. Sterck & De Vreese..
  • M. J. M. Christenhusz, M. F. Fay & M. W. Chase Plants of the World: an illustrated encyclopedia of vascular plant families. Kew Publishing/Chicago University Press.
  • M. W. Chase, M. J. M. Christenhusz & T. Mirenda The Book of Orchids. Ivy Press/Chicago University Press,.
  • M. J. M. Christenhusz & J. W. Byng The number of known plant species in the world and its annual increase. Phytotaxa 261: 201–217.
  • S. Zona & M. J. M. Christenhusz Litter-trapping plants: filter-feeders of the plant kingdom. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 179: 554–586.
  • M. J. M. Christenhusz, S. Brockington, A. Christin, & R. Sage On the disintegration of Molluginaceae: a new genus and family segregated from Hypertelis, and placement of Macarthuria in Macarthuriaceae. Phytotaxa 181: 238–242.
  • M. J. M. Christenhusz & M. W. Chase Trends and concepts in fern classification. Annals of Botany 113: 571–594.