10 Facts About Alfred Rehder

Alfred Rehder was a German-American botanical taxonomist and dendrologist who worked at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

Alfred Rehder is generally regarded as the foremost dendrologist of his generation.

Georg Alfred Rehder was born in the castle of Waldenburg to Thekla nee Schmidt and Paul Julius Rehder, the superintendent of parks and gardens of the principality of Schonburg-Waldenburg.

On his mother's side of the family, Alfred Rehder was likely descended from Henry, Duke of Anhalt-Kothen.

Alfred Rehder broke off his attendance at the gymnasium in Zwickau in 1881 and did not pursue university studies, instead working for three years as an apprentice under the tutelage of his father.

In 1888, Alfred Rehder accepted an appointment as head gardener at the Darmstadt Botanical Garden.

Alfred Rehder moved next to the Gottingen Botanical Garden, where he was head gardener from 1889 to 1895.

Alfred Rehder was naturalized as an American citizen in 1904, but he maintained his ties with Germany.

Alfred Rehder was instrumental in systematizing the thousands of plants collected by Ernest Henry Wilson in China.

Alfred Rehder created the first system of isothermic zones for the United States that related average winter minimum temperatures to the hardiness of specific plants.