Johann Friedrich Ruthe Ruthé or von Ruthe (16 April 1788 in Eggenstädt, near Hildesheim – 24 August 1859 in Berlin) was a German teacher (Oberlehrer), botanist and entomologist. In the field of entomology he specialised in Hymenoptera and Diptera.
With assistance from Heinrich Friedrich Link (1767–1851) he began his studies at the University of Berlin in 1811. Here he had as instructors Karl Rudolphi (1771–1832) and Martin Lichtenstein (1780–1857). After concluding his university studies, he taught classes at several schools in Berlin and Frankfurt an der Oder. Due to poor health he retired from teaching in 1842.
The fungi genus Ruthea is named after him,[1][2] now a synonym of Paxillus. Also in 1976, botanists A.Hansen & G.Kunkel published Rutheopsis, a genus of flowering plants from the Canary Islands belonging to the family Apiaceae, also named in his honour.[3]
Among his written works was a textbook on zoology, "Handbuch der Zoologie", that was co-authored with Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (1802–1841). Other noted publications by Ruthe are the following:
