Unio Itineraria was a German scientific society which was based at Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The organisation paid botanists to travel and collect plants, and sold the collections in large sets. Rising costs associated with the Wilhelm Schimper expeditions led to the collapse of Unio Itineraria in 1842. Significant portions of the Unio Itineraria collections were directed to Herbarium Tubingense at the University of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg^[1]

History

Supported by William I of Württemberg (1781–1864), Unio Itineraria was established ca. 1825 to promote scientific investigation through the collection and distribution of determined (identified) plant specimens. Unio Itineraria was organized by botanist Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (1787–1860) and physician Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (1783–1856). ^{[2] [3]}

The directors of Unio Itineraria raised funds through subscribers to the project to pay for expeditions and sold specimens as a dealership. The organization also sold birds, insects and libraries often as intermediaries and maintained agents. Several collectors are associated with the Unio Itineraria notably the organizers Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel and Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter as well as the explorer collectors:

• Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1795 –1868) Expedition to South Africa^[4]
• Friedrich Welwitsch (1806 –1872) Expeditions to Portugal, Madeira, Canary Islands, Angola^[5]
• Anton Wiest (1801-1835) Expedition to Egypt^[6]
• Theodor Kotschy (1813–1866) Botanical research throughout the Middle East and northern Africa^[7]
• Wilhelm Schimper (1804-1878) Expeditions to Algeria, Austria, Ethiopia, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Saudi Arabia and Syria^[8]

References