Filip Maximilian Opiz

Philipp (Filip) Maximilian Opiz (5 June 1787 in Čáslav – 20 May 1858 in Prague) was a forester and botanist in the Austrian Empire of German ethnicity. He made contributions to European botany during the early 19th century. Showing an early interest in botany from childhood, he produced floristic writings and established connections with prominent botanists while working as a government official in various Bohemian towns. Opiz founded the influential "Pflanzentauschanstalt" (plant exchange institution) in Prague in 1819, established a cryptogamic herbarium, edited the botanical journal "Naturalientausch" (1826–1828), and created numerous sets of exsiccatae (dried herbarium specimens) for distribution.

Biography

From childhood, Opiz showed an interest in botany, initially guided by physician A. Steinerer, which led to his early floristic writings, including the Calendarium Florae (1800) and the floristic monograph Flora Czaslaviensis. Between 1804 and 1806, he established connections with notable botanists in Prague and conducted botanical excursions across central and northern Bohemia.