Aloe Americana minor

Biography:

Georg Dionysus Ehret (1708-1770)

Ehret was a German botanist, entomologist and artist who began his career working as a gardeners apprentice and became one the greatest botanical artists of the eighteenth century. His artistic talents soon caught the eye of Johann W. Weinmann in Regensburg and he was invited to draw the illustrations for Phytanthoza Iconographia. Soon after he met Dr. Christoph Jakob Trew(1695-1769), a wealthy physician from Nurenberg, who became a lifelong friend, benefactor and publisher of most of Ehret’s work, including the famous Plantae Selectae, which was released from 1750-1773 and he contributed significantly to Trew’s Hortus Nitidissimus (1750-1786).

Subsequently, while in Paris, Ehret was hosted by Bernard de Jussieu (1699-c.1777), brother of Antoine and also an eminent botanist. In Holland he was to meet and befriend Carolus Linnaeus. Later in England, Ehret’s acquaintances included Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) founder of the British Museum, and Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), famed British naturalist and companion of Captain James Cook on his first voyage of exploration.