Aino Henssen
Aino Marjatta Henssen (12 April 1925, Elberfeld – 29 August 2011, Marburg), was a German lichenologist and systematist. Her father, Gottfried Henssen, was a folklorist and her mother was Finnish. Education and career. Henssen began her studies in Biology in Freiburg, Germany, before continuing in Marburg, Germany. She obtained her doctorate in 1953, which focused on the physiology of "Spirodela polyrhiza". In 1963, she became the curator of the "Botanisches Institut" at "Philipps-Universität" in Marburg, Germany. Following her habilitation in 1965, she was appointed in 1970 to the position of Associate Professor for thallophyte studies. She retired in  1990. Contributions. Henssen made many advancements to the taxonomic knowledge of cyanolichens and wrote a textbook on the subject. This book reorganized the taxonomic classification and connected lichen families to evolutionary clades. She later focused on actinomycetes during her postdoctoral at the Institute for Bacteriology in Berlin, leading to the discovery of two new genera, "Pseudonocardia" Henssen and "Thermomonospora" Henssen. She was passionate towards her field work, which took her around the world to collect specimens. Over the years, Henssen published many scientific articles on topics relating to lichens, fungi and the systematics of these groups. Recognition. Henssen was given  a scholarship from the American Association of University Women. In 1992, she was honored with an Acharius Medal. Eponymy. Several lichens have been named to honour Henssen, including: "Ainoa" which is a genus of lichens in the family Baeomycetaceae . And also the species of; "Caloplaca hensseniana" ; "Diploschistes hensseniae" ; "Gyalidea hensseniae" ; "Lecanora hensseniae" ; "Nephroma hensseniae" ; "Parmotrema hensseniae" ; "Rhizocarpon hensseniae" ; "Rimularia hensseniae" ; "Stephanocyclos henssenianus" ; and "Xanthoparmelia hensseniae" .