Johannes Hendrikus Kern (1903–1974) was a Dutch botanist, with an international reputation as an expert on the Cyperaceae (the sedge family).
Kern eagerly accepted and first worked on a revision of the Viburnum Malesia part of the multi-volume Flora Malesiana and then worked on a revision of the sedge family part of Flora Malesiana.
He returned from Bogor to the Netherlands in November 1952 to join the staff of the Flora Malesiana Foundation, located in Leiden's Rijksherbarium.
In June 1957 he became a staff member of the Rijksherbarium, where he worked on the Cyperaceae of Malesia and nearby regions.
In August 1961 he gave a lecture New Look at Cyperaceae at the Norwich Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.