Johannes Elias Teijsmann

Who was Johannes Elias Teijsmann?

Johannes Elias Teijsmann was a biologist botanist and plant collector. He was born in Arnhem, Netherlands. His surname is sometimes spelled Teysmann, although he himself spelled it Teijsmann.

Teijsmann travelled to Java in 1830 as gardener of Governor General Johannes van den Bosch. He was appointed the hortulanus of the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens the following year, a post he held until 1869. He took part in important botanical expeditions throughout maritime Southeast Asia. Teijsmann was also part of a Dutch fact-finding mission to Siam.

He is notable for the introduction of the cassava as a food source to alleviate famines in the then Dutch East Indies, and for his efforts, together with his collaborator Hasskarl, with regard to the cultivation of the cinchona tree for the production of quinine to treat malaria. For his bitter controversy with J.E. de Vrij and Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn about the relative merits of the various species of Cinchona see the successive issues of Natuurkundig tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië. His personal interest in palm trees led him to introduce to Indonesia the oil palm which remains a significant export earner for the country’s economy.