Klaus Ulrich Leistikow (1929-2002) studied natural science and philosophy at the universities of Cologne, Tübingen and Glasgow, and then taught biology at the university of Frankfurt. From 1986 to 1989 he was Director of the Botanical Institute and the Botanical Gardens in Frankfurt-am-Main. It was there in 1988 that he was elected Chairman of the Society of Friends of the Palm Garden.
