Armen Takhtajian
Mapping the diversity and relationships of the plant world
Armen Takhtajian was an Armenian botanist and a leading twentieth-century researcher in plant classification and evolution. Born in Shushi in 1910, he worked in Armenian scientific institutions, at Yerevan State University and in the botanical centres of Leningrad.
He studied the origins, structures and relationships of flowering plants. His classification system brought plant morphology into dialogue with evolutionary history. His research in plant geography also helped explain how botanical diversity is distributed across the world’s regions.
Takhtajian edited Flora of Armenia and other major botanical works. From 1977 to 1986, he directed the Komarov Botanical Institute. He died in 2009, leaving an international scientific school and a substantial body of research that helped generations of botanists organize and interpret the diversity of plants.