Sieversandreas madagascarianus
This new genus was described and named
in honor of Prof. Dr. Andreas Sievers of the Botanisches Institut,
University of Bonn, by Eberhard Fischer, 1996. The story behind this
nomenclatural honor is truly interesting and deserves a brief mention here.
Dr. Fischer wanted to honor Professor Sievers upon his retirement in 1996.
Dr. Fisher had found an undescribed plant in Madagascar and named it in
honor of Prof. Sievers. Now, Andreas had never been to Madagascar,
so a trip was arranged to travel to this country with Dr. Fischer and several
close friends. Upon arrival in Madagascar, they found that they would have
to travel over kilometers of muddy, unimproved roads, with long walks through
Opuntia fields before encountering the newly described genus.
This was circumvented however, when Andreas pointed out a beautiful strip
of land near the Strait of Mozambique on the southwest coast of Madagascar.
On this land, they found the precious Sieversandreas
madagascarianus. A celebration of
this discovery was in order, and Andreas and his friends consumed local
wine obtained from a Cistercian monastary in Madagascar!
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