In Memoriam Dr. J. H. Kern

On 29 July 1974 dr. J. H. Kern died at the age of 70. At the occasion of his official retirement from the Rijksherbarium staff (January 1969) Van Steenis and Van Ooststroom gave due recognition to his achievements in tropical botany and to his share in the progress of the knowledge of the Dutch flora. There is no need to repeat here what was written at that time (Blumea 17, 1969, 1—3 and Gorteria 4, 1968, 69—72). After his retirement he was appointed honorary collaborator of the Rijksherbarium and at first he continued his work more or less as usual. However, his health soon became worse and his deteriorating eyesight prevented him from working with the microscope. Consequently, he could not finish the revision of Carex and Uncinia for Flora Malesiana, the only genera which still were missing from his manuscript. It was decided that the family would be published without these genera; the unfinished manuscript will be left to another botanist to be put into final shape. Together with professor Van Steenis he made the manuscript ready for the press, but only some days after a first copy had been received from the printers, Jan Kern suddenly died.