Kölreuter, Josef Gottlieb

Kölreuter, Josef Gottlieb

(born April 27, 1733, Sulz, Württemberg—died Nov. 12, 1806, Karlsruhe, Baden) German botanist. A pioneer in the study of plant hybrids, he was the first to develop a scientific application of the discovery (made in 1694 by Rudolph Camerarius) of sex in plants. Cultivating plants in order to study their fertilization and development, he performed experiments, particularly with the tobacco plant, that included artificial fertilization and the production of fertile hybrids between plants of different species. His results foreshadowed the work of Gregor Mendel. Kölreuter recognized the importance of insects and wind as agents of pollen transfer. He applied Carolus Linnaeus's sexual system of classification to lower plant forms. His work was not recognized until long after his death.