Francesco Cupani

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Francesco Cupani

Francesco Cupani (born January 21, 1657 in Mirto , † January 19, 1710 in Palermo ) was an Italian doctor , theologian and botanist .

Life

Francesco Cupani initially studied medicine and later theology. In 1681 he joined the Franciscan order . He taught theology in Palermo. After meeting Paolo Boccone , however, he spent most of the time studying plants, animals and minerals from Sicily .

On behalf of Duke Giuseppe del Bosco, he laid out one of the first botanical gardens in Europe in 1692 , the Misilmeri Botanical Garden . This task brought him into contact with many botanists in Europe, such as B. Joseph Pitton de Tournefort , Caspar Commelin , William Sherard , James Petiver , Johann Georg Volckamer , Felice Viali (1638-1722) and Giovanni Battista Triumfetti .

For 25 years he worked on his main work Pamphyton siculum , a natural history of Sicily, which he could no longer complete.

Honor taxon

Charles Plumier named the genus Cupania of the soap tree family (Sapindaceae) in his honor . Carl von Linné later took over this name. In addition, around 25 other plant species are named after Cupani, for example Cupanis Timeless ( Colchicum cupanii ).

Fonts (selection)

  • Catalogus Plantarum Sicularum noviter adinventarum . Palermo 1692.
  • Syllabus Plantarum Sicilae nuper detectarum . Palermo 1694.
  • Hortus Catholicus seu Illustrissimi et Excellentissimi Principis Cathlicae Ducis Misilmeris . Naples 1696.
  • Supplementum alterum ad Hortum Catholicum . Palermo 1697.
  • Pamphyton siculum seu Historia naturalis de animalibus, stripibus, fossilibus, quae in Silicia, vel in circuito eius, inveniuntur . Palermo 1713 (posthumous).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles Plumier: Nova Plantarum Americanarum Genera . Leiden 1703, p. 45.
  2. ^ Carl von Linné: Critica Botanica . Leiden 1737, p. 92.
  3. ↑ Carl von Linné: Genera Plantarum . Leiden 1742, p. 87.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Cupani, Francesco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian doctor and botanist
DATE OF BIRTH January 21, 1657
PLACE OF BIRTH Mirto
DATE OF DEATH January 19, 1710
Place of death Palermo