Argentine botanist. Born in Córdoba, Alberto Castellanos was a prolific collector in little studied regions of Argentina, its neighbouring countries and much of Europe. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires in the field of Natural Sciences and continued researching and teaching at this institution. Castellanos was well known for his prestigious administrative roles, which included member of the governing body of the Faculty of Buenos Aires (1937-1940), president of the first South American Botanical Congress (Rio de Janeiro), founder of the Department of Botany in Montevideo, honorary president of the Argentine Succulent Plants Society, a founding member of the International Association of Plant Taxonomists, head of the botanical section of the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences (for 20 years) and an important influence in the Miguel Lillo Institute.
In terms of taxonomic research Castellanos' most significant contributions were to the understanding of the family Cactaceae and for his Genera et Species Plantarum Argentinarum (edited by H. R. Descole between 1945 and 1955) which was the first catalogue of Argentine plants. Other groups he studied include Mayacaceae, Xyridaceae, Eriocaulaceae and Pontaderiaceae and he was said to be the leading authority of his time on the Bromeliaceae of Argentina; thanks to his work on this family they are better known and more easily identified than in any other country. He also created works on Argentine phytogeography and wrote essays on the history of natural sciences in South America.
Unfortunately he was forced to emigrate in 1955 and began to work in Rio de Janeiro, filling a teaching post at the National Museum in 1958. Castellanos married a professor of mathematics and together they had two children. In 1966 he retired but even at the age of 70 continued to travel and collect, helping to organise and build the Herbarium Bradeanum. He died having been taken ill on the return journey from a field trip and a grove of trees was planted outside the museum in Rio de Janeiro in his honour, the first of which were planted by other renowned botanists. The Herbarium Alberto Castellanos (GUA) in Rio de Janeiro now bares his name, as do two genera, Castellanosia (Cactaceae) and Castellanoa (Amaryllidaceae), along with numerous species.
Sources:
Isley, Paul T III, 1987, Tillandsia: The World’s Most Unusual Air Plants. Botanical Press. Gardena, California.
Singer, R., 1969, "Alberto Castellanos 1896-1968", Taxon 18: 308-309.
