Rudolf Schlechter (1872-1925) a german botanist was Orchidaceae (orchids) specialist and curator at the Botanical Museum Berlin. During his journey time (1891-1910) he has visited Africa, Central and South America, Indonesia, Australia and New Guinea, where Rudolf Schlechter collected lots of tropical plants. Whilst being in South Africa he did also research on rubber plants. By order of an industrial concern he undertook an expedition to investigate rubber plants in Mozambique and got infected with a febrile tropical disease, which he just escaped being killed. In 1904 Rudolf Schlechter did his botanical doctorate.

Afterwards he started taxonomical work, especially on Orchidaceae (orchids) and Asclepiadoideae (especially on Hoya, wax flower plants), at the Botanical Museum in Berlin.

His biggest research achievement was on orchids, he described for the first time more than 1000 species. Rudolf Schlechter died at the age of 53 at the 15.11.1925 in Berlin. His huge collection of tropical plants got destroyed
during the bombardment of Berlin in 1945.
His author abreviation: Schltr., formerly also Schlechter.