Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher
German botanist
Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher (2 August 1799 Dillenburg, Hessen, Holy Roman Empire – 13 December 1858 Cape Town), was a botanical and insect collector who collected extensively in Cape Colony. He was the author, with Christian Friedrich Ecklon, of Enumeratio Plantarum Africae Australis (1835-7), a descriptive catalogue of South African plants.
In 1816 Zeyher was apprenticed to his uncle Johann Michael Zeyher who was head gardener at the ducal gardens of Schwetzingen. Here he met Franz Sieber and was talked into a partnership with the aim of collecting and selling natural history specimens - a burgeoning industry in the 19th century. They sailed for Mauritius in August 1822, however Zeyher was left at the Cape while Sieber went on to Mauritius and Australia. On his return in April 1824, Sieber picked up the specimens collected by Zeyher, assuring him of payment in due course. Sieber distributed a number of these specimens in his exsiccata named Flora Capensis. No payment ever materialised and Zeyher became aware that he would be forced to operate on his own. He journeyed east to Uitenhage in 1825 and north beyond Clanwilliam in 1828. The resulting specimens were sent to his uncle at Schwetzingen.
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