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ABOUT

Hello and welcome to my site.
My name is Maarten Christenhusz and I was born in the Netherlands, where I soon became enthusiastic about nature and plants in particular. A keen gardener, I started to collect seeds and cuttings and tried out all sorts of exotic plants in the garden. My enthusiasm for plants did not go unnoticed while I was studying biology at Utrecht University and I was soon asked to assist in botanical excursions and courses there. Also in Utrecht I volunteered as a guide in the Botanical Garden, studied Von Siebold's Japanese garden plants and wrote a flora treatment of the genus Euphorbia (spurges) for the Flora of the Guianas. I graduated on a description of the historical collections of Petrus Cadé.
After this I was hired at the University of Turku in Finland, where I studied the evolution of Danaea, a genus of ferns. This took me to various countries in South America and the Caribbean, where I enhanced my field work skills, and gave me the opportunity to learn molecular techniques. DNA can be a great help in clarifying relationships between species!
I graduated in 2007 after which I was hired by The Natural History Museum in London, where I worked on treatments for the Flora Mesoamericana for nearly two years. I returned to Finland to curate the tropical collections at the Helsinki Botanical Garden, but the long winters there made me return to England! After a short contract at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, I am now concentrating on botanical writing and establishing a freelance portfolio.
Dr Maarten Christenhusz

Maarten was the founding editor of the botanical journal Phytotaxa and is an associate editor of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, President of the International Association of Pteridologists and, of course, a fellow of the Linnean Society of London.

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LET'S MEET

“I look forward to helping you identify your plants, develop solutions in the garden or provide you with accurately named pictures. I look forward to meeting you and discussing your project​" 

Selected publications

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Chase, M. W. 2014. Trends and concepts in fern classification. Annals of Botany 113: 571–594. (invited review).

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M. 2012. On African violets and Cape primroses—towards a monophyletic Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae). Phytotaxa 46: 3–9.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Chase, M. W. 2013. Biogeographical patterns of plants in the Neotropics – dispersal rather than plate tectonics is most explanatory. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 171: 277–286.

  • Rankou, H., Culham, A., Jury, S. L., Christenhusz, M. J. M. 2013. The endemic flora of Morocco. Phytotaxa 78: 1–69.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Govaerts, R., Hall, T., Borland, K., Stranc, P., Tuomisto, A., Chase, M. W., & Fay, M. F. 2013. Tiptoe through the tulips: cultural history, molecular phylogenetics and classification of Tulipa (Liliaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 172: 280–328.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Jones, M. M., Lehtonen, S., 2013. Phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic genus Dracoglossum. American Fern Journal 103: 131–138.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2013. Twins are not alone: a recircumscription of Linnaea (Caprifoliaceae). Phytotaxa 125: 25–32.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M. 2012. An overview of Lardizabalaceae. Curtis's Botanical Magazine 29: 235–276.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Zhang, X.-C. & Schneider, H., 2011. A linear sequence of extant families and genera of lycophytes and ferns. Phytotaxa 19: 7–54.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Reveal, J., Farjon, A., Gardner, M. F., Mill, R. R. & Chase, M. W. 2011. A new classification and linear sequence of extant gymnosperms. Phytotaxa 19: 55–70.

 

  • Fay, M. F., Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Chase, M. W. 2010. Celebrating Darwin, the botanist. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161: 1–3.

  • Lehtonen, S. & Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2010. Historical herbarium specimens in plant molecular systematics: an example from the fern genus Lindsaea (Lindsaeaceae). Biologia 65: 204–208.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Fay, M. F., Clarkson, J. J., Gasson, P., Morales Can, J., Jimenez Barrios, J. & Chase, M. W., 2010. Petenaeaceae, a new angiosperm family in Huerteales, with a distant relationship to Gerrardina (Gerrardinaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 164: 16–25.

  • Hennequin, S., Hovenkamp, P., Christenhusz, M. & Schneider, H., 2010, Phylogeny and biogeography of Nephrolepis – A tale of old settlers and young tramps. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 164: 113–127.

  • Lehtonen, S., Tuomisto, H., Rouhan, G. & Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2010. Phylogenetics and classification of the pantropical fern family Lindsaeaceae. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 163: 305–359.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2010. Revision of the Neotropical genus Eupodium (Marattiaceae). Kew Bulletin 65: 1–7.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Chase, M. W., Fay, M. F., Lumbsch, T., Monro, A., Vorontsova, M. and Zhang, Z.-Q., 2009. A new international journal for rapid publication of botanical taxonomy. Phytotaxa 1: 1–2.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2009. Index Pteridophytorum Guadalupensium or a checklist to the ferns and club mosses of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161: 213–277.

  • Chase, M. W., Christenhusz, M. J. M., Sanders, D. & Fay, M. F. 2009. Murderous Plants: Victorian gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161: 329–356.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., Tuomisto, H., Metzgar, J., & Pryer, K. M., 2008. Evolutionary relationships within the Neotropical, eusporangiate fern genus Danaea (Marattiaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46: 34–48.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2008. Florula of Lime Cay, an account of the vascular flora on a small Jamaican islet. Schlechtendalia 7: 1–25.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Toivonen, T. K., 2008. Giants invading the tropics: the oriental vessel fern, Angiopteris evecta (Marattiaceae). Biological Invasions 10: 1215–1228.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2002. Notes on Euphorbia and Pedilanthus (Euphorbiaceae) in the Guianas. Harvard Papers in Botany 7: 1–6.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2007. Dracoglossum, a new Neotropical fern genus (Pteridophyta). Thaiszia Journal of Botany 17: 1–10.

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M. 2007.  Evolutionary history and taxonomy of Neotropical marattioid ferns: studies of an ancient lineage of plants. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis ser. AII 216: 1–134 ·

  • Christenhusz, M. J. M., 2004. The hortus siccus (1566) of Petrus Cadé: a description of the oldest known collection of dried plants made in the Low Countries. Archives of Natural History 31: 30–43.

Maarten Christenhusz, The Botanical Consultant

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