Joaquim de Mariz Junior was born on the 28th January 1847, in Coimbra (Portugal). He was the son of Joaquim de Mariz and of Maria José Pinto. He studied in Coimbra. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, and gained distinctions in various subjects of the course. He practiced medicine until 1879, when he applied for Assistant botanist to teach Botany at the University of Coimbra, a position he held until his death.

He was a committed scientist, always carrying out his duties zealously. He excelled as a botanical taxonomist. He studied exhaustively the Portuguese phanerogamic flora, studying more than 200 species, sent to him by the members of the Broterian Society. He did a magnificent work of identifying and classifying botanical samples. He revised the massive herbarium of the Botanical Gardens of Coimbra; the names of the vast majority of the species existing in this herbarium were written by him. He compiled many studies in descriptive botanic about many families: Papilionaceae, Cruciferaceae, Ranunculaceae, Cariofilaceae, Crassulaceae, Geraniaceae, Asteraceae or Compositae, Umbelíferaceae, Polygonaceae. Chenopodiaceous, Valerianaceae, Dipsacaceae, Ambrosiaceae, Primulaceae, Gencianaceae, Solanaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cuscutaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Ericaceae, Monotropeae, Vaciniaceae and Verbaceae. This was a magnificent work and of crucial importance to the study of the Portuguese flora.

His expertise as botanical taxonomist made him very popular amongst other great botanists of his time. He co-operated in the preparation of the Flora of Portugal of Gonçalo Sampaio and António Xavier Pereira Coutinho, clearing many doubts and identifying a lot of material for these two authors.

He produced many botanical studies, which include a vast number of plant catalogues, which were published in the Bulletin of the Broterian Society, a society of which he was a member and untiring collaborator.

He frequently collected plants, during which he collected many samples for the herbarium. During these visits to the field, he discovered many new species, for the country and for science and gave an important contribution to draft the geo-botanical map of Portugal.

He led a long scientific expedition to Trás-os-Montes, especially in the district of Bragança, studying in great depth de “transmontana” flora. In this task, e carried out vast collections of plants and the methodical analysis. The catalogues of the plants collected and the register of the analysis made are found in the Bulletin of the Broterian Society.

Joaquim de Mariz had a talent for art, drawing and engraving. He did the pictures of the Botanical gardens such as the «a Estufa» (the Hothouse), of 1867.

He died on the 1st of April of 1916, victim of pneumonia.

Jorge Guimarães