NEWS from BOTANY 2026
A warm welcome to
Dr. Maryam Malekmohammadi!
Since 1 July 2026, she has held the newly created post of Collection Manager at the Herbarium Senckenbergianum in Frankfurt (FR).
She obtained her PhD in plant systematics (genus Limonium, Plumbaginaceae) from the University of Tehran in 2017 and worked there as a researcher and herbarium curator until 2021. During this time, she also investigated issues relating to plant ecology and ethnobotany.
Since 2022, she has been a postdoctoral researcher and research assistant at the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum (BGBM). There, she was responsible for the Plumbaginaceae family in the BGBM’s Caryophyllales database. A key focus of her research at the BGBM was the development of an online database on plant diversity in the South Caucasus.
In her spare time, she enjoys mountaineering and rock climbing, reading and watching documentaries. She also enjoys botanical illustration and loves to travel.
Chilean-German Summer School 2026 – Part 2
From the autumnal Magallanes Region to Frankfurt in summer: The second part of the Chilean-German Summer School begins on June 14 …
YouTube-Videos [in Spanish]
ITV Patagonia – Del Cabo de Hornos al Corazón de Europa [5:50 min.]
ITV Patagonia – Tuberas: Una mirada desde del mundo subantártic [2:32 min.]
From the autumnal Magallanes Region to Frankfurt in summer: The second part of the Chilean-German Summer School begins on June 14 …
08.05.2026
Chilean-German Summer School 2026
The first Chilean-German Summer School on Biocultural Diversity has arrived in Punta Arenas in southern Chile and is currently on its way to Isla Navarino in the Cape Horn region. Ten early-career researchers from Chile and ten from Germany are spending two two-week blocks in Chile and Germany respectively, exploring the interplay between culture and nature, or the landscape. Funded by private donors, the event aims to raise awareness of how we treat nature and, following this year’s ‘pilot project’, will take place every two years.
Concept and planning: Christian Printzen and Ricardo Rozzi.
Follow the journey …
The German group boarding the ship in Punta Arenas.
On 28 May,
Harald Futschig and Bernd Herkner
visited the Herbarium Senckenbergianum.
Harald Futschig is the grandson of Josef A. Futschig (1911–1984) and showed particular interest in the specimens his grandfather had collected. Josef A. Futschig’s collection, comprising around 10,000 specimens, contains one of the most significant collections of bryophytes from Hesse, featuring many exceptional specimens.
Harald Futschig still has vivid memories of collecting excursions with his grandfather, particularly of how Josef A. Futschig would take the car’s floor mat out to use as a mat whilst collecting bryophytes.
Extraordinary discoveries by Joseph A. Futschig …
24.04.2026
Stefan Wanke Appointed Spokesperson for the Botany Collection Group
The head of our department has been appointed as spokesperson for the cross-site “Botany” collection group at Senckenberg. The Herbarium Senckenbergianum comprises the botanical and mycological collections at the Senckenberg locations in Jena, Frankfurt, Görlitz, Weimar, and Wilhelmshaven, with a total of over 6 million herbarium specimens. Senckenberg botanists meet regularly to discuss research, develop joint projects, and coordinate and standardize the management of the botanical collections.
Senckenberg Botanists’ Field Trip 2024 in Jena, Stefan Wanke on the far right of the picture
23.04.2026
Marlis Merbach has passed away
On April 5, 2026, Dr. Marlis Merbach, a former doctoral student and researcher in the Department of Botany and Molecular Evolutionary Research, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60. Her doctoral thesis focused on the interactions between the pitcher plant Nepenthes bicalcarata, which grows in Borneo, and ants, particularly the mutualistic relationship with the enigmatic ant species Camponotus schmitzi. In 2014, she received the SGN’s Hanns Christian Schroeder-Hohenwarth Prize for an article on this research topic published in the journal “Natur Forschung Museum.” Marlis Merbach worked as a biology teacher in Offenbach until her death.
Marlis Merbach searching for Nepenthes bicalcarata in the rainforest of Borneo (Brunei) with Georg Zizka (ca. 1999)
15.04.2026
Study trip to Egypt for students
This spring, Stefan Wanke, accompanied by Thomas Gregor, once again led a biology field trip to Egypt with 19 students from Goethe University. Most importantly, all participants returned safely and there were no incidents.
The first item on the agenda was the desert vegetation. Colleague Gregor led a daily excursion into a wadi (dry riverbed) or the immediate vicinity of our camp, much to the students’ delight, at 6 a.m. After breakfast, we had diving lessons on the agenda. We spent a day in a mangrove forest with an adjacent wadi to learn about the mangrove ecosystem. During the second week, we were on a boat (MY Big Blue) and went diving on the outer reefs of the northern Red Sea.
More photos …
Group photo—last day on the boat.
27.03.2026
“Hello Earth – Good News!”
As part of this monthly series on Senckenberg research findings, hich appears in various daily newspapers, this article about the Biotopkartierung was published in the Offenbach Post [pdf in German] on March 21, 2026. The report was prompted by studies conducted on the “wilderness area” at Monte Scherbelino in southeast Frankfurt, which has been allowed to develop undisturbed for several years now. At the foot of the former landfill, diverse, species-rich habitats have developed, which are also home to numerous Red List species.
Newly created biodiverse habitats at the foot of the former Monte Scherbelino landfill site.
Wolfhardt Widdra (23.3.1943-18.2.2026)
On February 18, 2026, Dr. Wolfhardt Widdra, an appointed honorary member of the SGN, passed away in Frankfurt. He was especially interestedin the digitisation of the herbarium collection. In 2008 he had already donated his private herbarium collection to the Herbarium Senckenbergianum.
We are grateful for his commitment to Senckenberg
Happy Birthday!
Prof. Dr. Dr. Horst Lange-Bertalot turned 90 on February 2026. After working at Goethe University he was appointed honorary member of the SGN and is still scientifically active and productive. The eminent diatom taxonomist has described over 2,000 species of diatoms and has donated his collection of types to the Herbarium Senckenbergianum.
We wish all the best for the future.
Congratulations!
Marie Claire Veranso-Libalah has been awarded the “Habilitation” in botany at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, her former place of work. Her current research focuses on the systematics and evolution of Melastomataceae and Dichapetalaceae.
