Karl von Zois zu Laibach (1756–1800) was an Austrian amateur botanist and plant collector. Von Zois, described as a "country gentleman",[1] lived in the Carniola region of Austria.[1] He is best known today as the namesake of zoysiagrass,[2] which was named by Carl Ludwig Willdenow in 1801.[1]
The Zois family was of Lombard origin; Karl's father was Michelangelo Zois (1694–1777), a merchant who married a Carniolan noblewoman, and was nobilitated in 1739. The family was based in Ljubljana (German: Laibach). His brother was natural scientist and patron of the arts Sigmund Zois.