Wilhelm Troll

Julius Georg Hubertus Wilhelm Troll (3 November 1897, Munich – 28 December 1978, Mainz) was a German botanist, known for his studies in the field of plant morphology. He advocated a morphological biology that was rooted in the nature philosophy of Goethe.^[1] He was an older brother to geographer Carl Troll (1899–1975).

Biography

From 1919 to 1921, he studied biological sciences at the University of Munich, where he was a pupil of botanist Karl Ritter von Goebel.^[2] In 1929/30 he participated in the Sunda Expedition der Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft, during which, he conducted studies on the respiratory roots of mangrove plants.^[3] In 1932 he was appointed professor of botany and director of the botanical garden at the University of Halle, and in 1946, he became a professor of botany and general biology at the University of Mainz.^[4]

Some plants with the specific epithet of trollii honor his name.^[5]

Selected works

• Goethes morphologische schriften, ausgewählt und eingeleitet von Wilhelm Troll. 1932 – Goethe's morphological writings.^[6]
• Vergleichende morphologie der höheren pflanzen, 1935 – Comparative morphology of higher plants.
• Gestalt und Urbild : gesammelte Aufsätze zu Grundfragen der organischen Morphologie, 1941 – Shape and archetype: collected essays on basic questions of organic morphology.
• Allgemeine Botanik; ein Lehrbuch auf vergleichend-biologischer Grundlage, 1948 – General botany; a textbook on comparative and biological basics.
• Praktische Einführung in die Pflanzenmorphologie; ein Hilfsbuch für den botanischen Unterricht und für das Selbststudium, 1954 – Practical introduction to plant morphology; an auxiliary book for botanical teaching and self-study.
• Die Infloreszenzen : Typologie und Stellung im Aufbau des Vegetationskörpers, 1964 – Inflorescences: Typology and position involving the structure of the plant body.^[7]