Martin Hendriksen Vahl is a Norwegian Botaniste , born the October 10th 1749 with Bergen and dead the December 24th 1804 with Copenhagen.

It starts to study in Bergen before coming to Copenhagen to study the Natural history there. It goes then to the Université of Uppsala to follow the courses of Carl von Linné (1707-1778).

It returns to Copenhagen in 1779 and is named reader with the royal Botanical garden. The king then allows him to visit Europe during several years.

He is named professor in Copenhagen in 1785. He then starts a voyage through his country in order to assemble materials to continue the Flora Danica (or Danish Flore ) whose seven books were appeared between 1761 and 1782. He thus supervises the publication of seventeen additional books.

Always, thanks to generosities of its government, it goes in 1799 and 1800 to the Netherlands and in France. A few years later, he visits the North Africa.

Among its works, it is necessary to quote Symbolæ botanicæ (3 volumes, 1790-1794), Eclogæ Americanæ (3 volumes, 1796-1807), Icones illustrationi plantarum Americanarum in Eclogis descriptarum inserrientes (1798), Enumeratio plantarum (2 volumes, 1805-1807).

He is professor at the Company of natural history (Naturhistorie Selskabet) of Copenhagen in 1786 and occupies the pulpit of natural history at the university of Copenhagen of 1801 with 1804.

He also takes part in the publication of Zoologia Danica . He leaves, with his death, a very rich Herbier.