Dieter Carl Wasshausen (born 15 April 1938 in Jena, Germany)[1] is an American botanist who specialized in spermatophytes. In 1962 he started working at the Smithsonian Institution as a technician. He studied at the George Washington University, receiving a PhD in 1972. In 1976 he became chairman of the Botany Department, a post he held until 1982.[2]
Wasshausen has described approximately 247 new species in various families, and five new species have been named for him.[2]