Lichenologist Josef Poelt was head of the Botanical Institute and Botanical Garden of Graz University, Austria, from 1972-1990. He was born in the Bavarian village of Pöcking, where as a child he suffered from severe asthma. Studying botany in Munich, he completed his PhD in 1950 and his teaching qualification ('habilitation') in 1959.
In October 1965, after several years as curator and lecturer at the University of Munich, Poelt began a professorship at the Institute for Systematic Botany and Plant Geography in Berlin. He remained here seven years before joining Graz University, where he would lead the botany department for nearly 20 years. As Emeritus Professor, following his retirement, he remained active, lecturing for several more years and continuing to conduct fieldwork. His Bestimmungsschlüssel Europäischer Flechten (Key to European Lichens) became a standard lichenology reference work.
Poelt was honoured with membership of the Bavarian Academy of Science, honorary membership of the Regensburg Botanical Society, foreign membership of the Linnean Society and corresponding memberships of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Botanical Society of America. The International Association of Lichenologists awarded him the Acharius Medal in 1992 and 1994.
After the early death of his wife Poelt looked after their two daughters alone. Praise for Poelt in obituaries, following his death as the result of a heart attack, was of the highest order.
"His influence on European Lichenology can hardly be overestimated or overstated," wrote Irwin Brodo in The Bryologist, "whether one speaks of his mentoring such key figures as Hannes Hertel, Josef Hafellner, Helmut Mayrhofer, Peter Döbbeler, and Franz Oberwinkler; establishing a world-class centre of lichenology in Graz together with Hafellner and Mayrhofer; or the 402 papers he published, covering almost every aspect of lichen biology."
A keen alpine mountaineer, Poelt was also known for his excellent yodelling.
Sources:
I.M. Brodo, 1996, "Josef Poelt: A North American Perspective", The Bryologist, 99(3): 349-351
F. Ehrendorfer, 1996, "Nachrufe: Josef Poelt", Almanach der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 146: 407-413
H. Hertel, P. L. Nimis and A. Vĕzda, 1996, "A Tribute to Josef Poelt", The Lichenologist, 28(2): 183-187
I. Krisai-Greilhuber, "Obituary: Prof. Dr Josef Poelt", Plant Systematics and Evolution, 198(3-4): 151-153.
