Johannes Lid
Johannes Lid was a Norwegian botanist. He was born in Voss Municipality, and he married the illustrator Dagny Tande Lid in 1936. He is particularly known for his works on Scandinavian flora, and for his widely used handbook to plants Norsk flora, with illustrations by his wife Dagny Tande Lid. He co-founded and chaired the Norwegian Botanical Association from 1935 to 1942. From 1948 onward he served as a curator at the Botanical Museum in Oslo. After his retirement in 1956, he carried out in-depth studies of the flora of the Canary Islands. He became a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in 1945 and received the King's Medal of Merit in gold in 1956.
Biography
Lid was born in Voss Municipality, Norway on 11 January 1886. In 1936, he married the illustrator Dagny Tande Lid, who would later provide botanical illustrations for many of his publications. He died on 27 September 1971 at the age of 85.Career and scientific contributions
Johannes Lid conducted botanical field studies ranging from Svalbard in the north to the Canary Islands in the south. His major publication was Norsk Flora, first published in 1944 with illustrations by his wife Dagny Tande Lid. This was followed in 1963 by Norsk og svensk flora, also illustrated by Dagny Tande Lid.From 1948, Lid served as the First Curator at the botanical museum at the University of Oslo. After his retirement in 1956, he conducted studies of the flora of the Canary Islands.
Work with the Norwegian Mire Society
Lid maintained a professional relationship with Det norske myrselskap, becoming a lifetime member and being elected to its representative council in 1945. His work with the Society lasted approximately 30 years.His research demonstrated correlations between mire vegetation and chemical analysis results from soil samples. The botanical analyses of plant samples were conducted at the University Botanical Museum in Oslo under Lid's direction.
Following field surveys, Lid co-authored a publication titled Botaniske holdepunkter ved praktisk myrbedømmelse in 1943, illustrated by Dagny Tande Lid. It was later republished as Myrtyper og myrplanter in 1950.
Lid also participated in the Mire Society's cultivation experiments with cloudberry, published in 1961. These studies documented hermaphroditic flowers in cloudberry plants, which in some cases produced fruit.