Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher

Who was Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher?

Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher, was a botanical and insect collector who collected extensively in South Africa. He was the author, with Christian Friedrich Ecklon, of Enumeratio Plantarum Africae Australis, a descriptive catalogue of South African plants.

In 1816 Zeyher was apprenticed to his uncle Johann Michael Zeyher who was head gardener at the ducal gardens of Schwetzingen. Here he met Franz Sieber and was talked into a partnership with the aim of collecting and selling natural history specimens - a burgeoning industry in the 19th century. They sailed for Mauritius in August 1822, however Zeyher was left at the Cape while Sieber went on to Mauritius and Australia. On his return in April 1824, Sieber picked up the specimens collected by Zeyher, assuring him of payment in due course. No payment ever materialised and Zeyher became aware that he would be forced to operate on his own. He journeyed east to Uitenhage in 1825 and north beyond Clanwilliam in 1828. The resulting specimens were sent to his uncle at Schwetzingen.

In 1829 Ecklon returned to the Cape from Europe where he had sold his specimens through the Unio Itineraria run by Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter and Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel at Esslingen. Zeyher and Ecklon decided to collaborate in their collecting. Ecklon sailed for Algoa Bay to collect in the Eastern Cape and Zeyher travelled north by ox-wagon. Zeyher's route took him through the Clanwilliam and Cederberg area, from where he followed the Olifants River to its mouth. Here Zeyher ran across Drege on 23 May 1831. He collected in the area for some time, travelling on to Bitterfontein and the Kamiesberge. From here he went further north up to the Orange River, eventually reaching its mouth. Little rain had fallen and the landscape was parched, causing considerable losses among his oxen.