Piper Wichmannii
Pronounced: “Which-Manni-Eye”
Today we’re going to take a quick look back around the time period of the late 1800s to the early 1900s. It was during this time that kava’s progenitor, Piper wichmannii, or “Wild Kava” was identified and named.
Dutch explorers took to the seas in 1903 with the goal of searching the North Coast of West Papua, which was at the time “Netherlands New Guinea”, for exploitable coal beds. This expedition focused on the Cenderawasih Bay (previously known as Geelvink Bay) and Yos Sudarso Bay (previously known as Humboldt Bay). This marked the first official Dutch expedition into New Guinea.
This scientific expedition team consisted of 44 people. This included the team leader, Arthur Wichmann along with Albertus Lorentz, Adrian Johan van der Sande who was the physician and responsible for anthropology and ethnography, Ferdinand de Beaufort (zoologist), Johannes Maximiliaan Duma (ex-dealer of paradise feathers with experience in the jungle), as well as 39 Dajak from North Borneo which included 2 hunters and 7 other assistants. Arthur Wichmann is the individual we will be focusing on in this article. If you haven’t made the connection yet, the scientific name for wild kava bears the mark of his name “Wichmann” in “Wichmannii”.
(Arthur Wichmann. By 'Onze Hoogleeraren' (Q71545423), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88905381)
Carl Ernst Arthur Wichmann was born in Hamburg Germany in 1851. He took on the title of Professor of Geology at the age of 18 in 1879 in Utrecht (today the Faculty of Geosciences) while studying under Ferdinand Zirke, professor of Geology and Mineralogy in Leipzig. Wichmann held this title for 43 years, and during his life produced 123 publications about geological, historical, and geographical matters. Of these, his magnum opus is considered the two-part publication “Nova Guinea” which outlined the expedition in 1903.
It was during this 1903 expedition that the cataloging and naming of various indigenous plants were undertaken. Kava’s wild progenitor, Piper Wichmannii, was named at the time after this expedition. It was then published in volume number two of Wichmann’s book “Nova Guinea” in 1910.
Sources:
The first Dutch expedition. The First Dutch Expedition | Stichting Papua Erfgoed. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2021, from https://www.papuaerfgoed.org/en/theme/first-dutch-expedition
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, July 8). C. E. A. Wichmann. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._E._A._Wichmann
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, August 29). Ferdinand Zirkel. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Zirkel
Applequist, Wendy L., and Vincent Lebot. 2006. “Validation of Piper Methysticum Var. Wichmannii (Piperaceae).” Novon, no. 16: 3–4. https://doi.org/10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16[3:VOPMVW]2.0.CO;2.
Pronounced: “Which-Manni-Eye”
Today we’re going to take a quick look back around the time period of the late 1800s to the early 1900s. It was during this time that kava’s progenitor, Piper wichmannii, or “Wild Kava” was identified and named.
Dutch explorers took to the seas in 1903 with the goal of searching the North Coast of West Papua, which was at the time “Netherlands New Guinea”, for exploitable coal beds. This expedition focused on the Cenderawasih Bay (previously known as Geelvink Bay) and Yos Sudarso Bay (previously known as Humboldt Bay). This marked the first official Dutch expedition into New Guinea.
Carl Ernst Arthur Wichmann was born in Hamburg Germany in 1851. He took on the title of Professor of Geology at the age of 18 in 1879 in Utrecht (today the Faculty of Geosciences) while studying under Ferdinand Zirke, professor of Geology and Mineralogy in Leipzig. Wichmann held this title for 43 years, and during his life produced 123 publications about geological, historical, and geographical matters. Of these, his magnum opus is considered the two-part publication “Nova Guinea” which outlined the expedition in 1903.
It was during this 1903 expedition that the cataloging and naming of various indigenous plants were undertaken. Kava’s wild progenitor, Piper Wichmannii, was named at the time after this expedition. It was then published in volume number two of Wichmann’s book “Nova Guinea” in 1910.
Sources:
The first Dutch expedition. The First Dutch Expedition | Stichting Papua Erfgoed. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2021, from https://www.papuaerfgoed.org/en/theme/first-dutch-expedition
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, July 8). C. E. A. Wichmann. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._E._A._Wichmann
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, August 29). Ferdinand Zirkel. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Zirkel
Applequist, Wendy L., and Vincent Lebot. 2006. “Validation of Piper Methysticum Var. Wichmannii (Piperaceae).” Novon, no. 16: 3–4. https://doi.org/10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16[3:VOPMVW]2.0.CO;2.
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