Flora Hawaiiensis: The New Illustrated Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, Books 1-6 - Rare Complete Set

Honolulu, HI: Privately Printed by the Author, 1957. 1st ed. loose leaf in hardcover, with removable screws in binding. very good/no dj as issued. Privately Printed by the Author 1932-1962, 6 volumes in very good condition, with occasional shellf wear or signs of age.. Vol with a signed dedication. Former owners name stamped on inside of covers.
Comes additionally with a book review of 1935 from the Honolulu Advertiser and an article about Dr,. Hillebrand written by Degener from a Hawaii Magazine
Ships from Hawaii (weight 12 lb) or pick-up in Honolulu. Hard to find as complete set in good condition.
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Otto Degener, a systematic botanist and conservationist, is recognized as the authority on the flora of the Hawaiian Islands. In addition, he was one of the first people to awaken the public to the need to conserve the native habitats which were being lost to alien species and rampant development.

Born in Orange, New Jersey in 1899, Dr. Degener received his M.A. from the University of Hawaii in 1922 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University, where he studied under N. L. Britton, P. A. Rydberg, and R.A. Harper. Moving to Hawaii in 1922, he taught botany at the University of Hawaii from 1925 to 1927 and in 1929 he was appointed the first naturalist for Hawaii National Park. Degener was appointed Collaborator in Hawaiian Botany by The New York Botanical Garden in 1935 and was associated with the Garden until his death in 1988.

Degener published the first fascicle of his great work, the Flora Hawaiiensis in 1932. This was the first such flora published since that of William Hillebrand of 1888. The Hillebrand specimens were deposited in Berlin and subsequently most were lost during World War II. During his lifetime, Dr. Degener managed to collect over 36,000 different species and preserve some 900 threatened and endangered plants. Without question, his herbarium was the largest and finest collection of Hawaiian Island specimens in existence.A lot of his specimens are now in the Herbarium of The New York Botanical Garden.