Pieter van Royen

Pieter van Royen (1923-2002) was a Dutch botanist. He is an author of many papers on the flora of New Guinea. with the first volume of a monograph on the Podostemaceae of the Neotropics, the second and third volumes of which he presented in 1953 and 1954, respectively.

From 1951 to 1962, he worked at the Rijksherbarium in Leiden, from 1954 to 1955 he undertook his first botanical exploration in New Guinea. From 1962 to 1965, he was employed at the Lae Botanical Garden there and from 1964 to 1965 at the Queensland Herbarium in Brisbane, Australia. he held this position until his retirement in 1983. During this time he devoted himself continuously to further research into the flora of New Guinea.

With his work, Van Royen has significantly enhanced knowledge of the New Guinea flora. His monograph on the Podostemonaceae is a fundamental standard work up to the present day; the American botanist C. Thomas Philbrick wrote about it: “Much of our current knowledge of the taxonomy of the New World Podostemaceae is based in large part on the work of Dr. P. van Royen."

Honors The genus Van-royena from the family of Sapotaceae was named in 1964 by van Royen.

Works (selection) The Podostemaceae of the New World, Vol. I, in: Meded. Bot. Mus. Herb. Rijks Univ. Utrecht, 107: 1–151, 1951 The Podostemaceae of the New World, Vol. II, in: Acta Bot. Neerl. 2 (1): 1-21, 1953 The Podostemaceae of the New World, Vol. III, in: Acta Bot. Neerl. 3: 215–263,1954 The genus Rubus [Rosaceae] in New Guinea, Vaduz, Cramer, 1969 P. van Royen & PR Reitz, Podostemáceas, in: PR Reitz. (Ed.). Flora Illustrada Catarinense, 1a (5): 2-36, 1971 Sertulum Papuanum 17. Corsiaceae of New Guinea and surrounding areas, in: Webbia 27: pp. 223–255, 1972 The alpine flora of New Guinea, Vaduz, 1979, Genus Corybas (Orchidaceae in Its Eastern Areas), 1984,