Career

Collecting localities

Collections

Literature

Biographical data

 

Spanoghe, Johan Baptist

 

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 1: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

 

Born: 1796, Madras, Br. India.

Died: Apr. 22, 1838, Pekalongan, Java; buried at Pasirangin, S of Lebak, W. Java.1

 

career:

Of Belgian origin; he entered the D.E. Indian Government service in 1816 and was appointed Assistant Resident of the southern divisions of Bantam Residency in W. Java in 1821. About 1827/28 he was placed on half-pay on account of ill health; in 1831 he set out for Timor, in which island he was acting Resident from 1833-34; subsequently on half-pay once more. In 1836 he returned to Java, and was honourably discharged in the next year. After his retirement he settled at Pekalongan.

He is commemorated in the genus Spanoghea Blume and in several plant species (cf. also sub Spangler).

 

Collecting localities:

182-31. W. Java, Bantam Residency. He accompanied Blume (see there) to the Badoeis in 1822;1 he also collected together with Millet (see there).-1831-36. Lesser Sunda Islands. Sailing from Batavia (Aug. 23, 1831); ashore in Bima (eastern part of Soembawa);2 Timor: Koepang (arriving Oct. 11).3 In Timor he collected in the following localities: Oyba, Pariti, Oyniesoe, Koesambi, Amabie, Bakoelnasi; besides in the neighbouring islands: P. Kambang, P. Semaoe, P. Rot(t)i, and P. Lamaan. He collected a few specimens in Bali.-1836. Java.-1837-38. Centr. Java: Pekalongan.

In a list at Leiden Herbarium Java plants are mentioned from G. Salak, G. Gedeh (crater and summit), Simbang, Batavia, Hort. Bog., and G. Diëng; probably collected in 1836-38.

 

collections:

Herb. Leiden [L]:3 423 species from Timor, few from Bali, and several from Java; dupl. in Herb. Utrecht [U]; in Herb. Kew [K] (with Herb. Sir W.J. Hooker), also Java mosses (pres. 1834-36); Herb. Paris [P]; in Herb. Bot. Gard. St Petersb. (= Leningrad [LE]); Spach Plantae timorensis5 (probably a mistake for Spanoghe).

According to Backer the Leiden Herbarium [L] has a specimen of Smithia sensitiva, collected in Bali by Spanoghe!

He published some papers on his Timor collections.4 His Timor plants were not included by Decaisne in his ‘Herbarii Timoriensis descriptio’, the latter planned to deal later with the collections of Spanoghe and Zipelius (see introduction in l.c.).

The manuscript of the ‘Prodromus’, which was completed in 1836, was sold after his death (during life he refused to forward it to Blume, maybe in consequence of Decaisne’s intention) to D.F.L. von Schlechtendal, the editor of ‘Linnaea’. A series of more than 70 coloured plates was intended to illustrate the work; as the reproduction would have been too expensive, they remained unedited. It is not clear whether the plates were included in the sale; their present location is evidently in Herb. Leiden [L].6 According to Miquel (Flor. Ind. Bat. 3, p. Vii), Spanoghe’S herbarium was sold to von Schlechtendal too. The latter gave it to Miquel!

 

literature:

(1) cf. Ind. Magazijn, 2e twaalftal, nos 3 and 4.

(2) cf. Hasskarl in Tijdschr. Neêrl. Ind. 42, 1842, p. 230.

(3) cf. Letter in Alg. Konst- en Letterbode 18321, p. 356-361 (voyage Batavia-Timor + plant list of Bima). When writing the letter he intended to send some unknown plants from Bima and the collection from Timor to Blume at Leiden.

(4) ‘Extract of a letter from M. Spanoghe, the Dutch Resident at Coupang, relating to the natural history of the island of Timor; with some account of the Upas tree, discovered there by that gentleman’ (Hook. Comp. Bot. Mag. 1, 1835, p. 308-317).

J.B. Spanoghe: ‘Catalogue of the plants found on Timor and the neighbouring islands’ (l.c. 1, 1835, p. 344-351); ‘Prodromus florae timorensis’ (Linneaa 15, 1841, p. 161-208, 314-350, 476-480).

(5) cf. Herder in Bot. Centr. Bl. 55, 1893, p. 269; and Lipsky, Gerbarii Imperatorskago S. Petersburgskago etc., 2nd ed. 1908, p. 192.

(6) cf. Blumea 3, 1940, p. 524 footnote, and l.c. p. 580 ditto.

 

biographical data:

Hand. Ind. Gen. 2, 1855, p. 393-400; Backer,Verkl. Woordenb., 1936; Chron. Naturae (contin. of Natuurwet. Tijdschr. N.I.) 104, 1948, p. 206-209.