Jean-Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour

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Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour.

Jean-Baptiste Louis Claude Théodore Leschenault de La Tour (born November 13, 1773 in Chalon-sur-Saône , † March 14, 1826 in Paris ) was a French botanist and ornithologist . He made voyages of discovery in Australia, India and South America. His botanical author's abbreviation is “ Lesch. "

Australia and Java

Jean-Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour was the senior botanist at the Baudin expedition of Nicolas Baudin in Australia from 1800 to 1803. In the years 1801 and 1802, he collected a large number of species, in April 1803 he was, however, so ill that he had to be left behind on Timor . As a result, he was forced to spend the next three years on Java and undertook the first botanical investigation on this island, even before that of the natural scientist Carl Peter Thunberg . He did not reach France again until July 1807 with a large collection of plants and birds.

The birds that Leschenault found on Java were described by Georges Cuvier and Louis Pierre Vieillot , their appearance outlined by Coenraad Jacob Temminck . His plant collection, which he brought to France, guaranteed him a pension from the French government.

India

In May 1816 Leschenault traveled to India to collect plants and set up a botanical garden near Pondicherry . He also received permission from the British to travel through Madras , Bengal and Ceylon . Leschenault sent numerous plants and seeds to France, which he collected and re-cultivated on the French island of Réunion . This collection included two different types of sugar cane and six types of cotton. When he returned to France in 1822, he was awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest distinction in the country.

South America

Less than a year after arriving in France, he embarked for South America , where he toured Brazil , Dutch Guiana and French Guiana , and brought tea plants to Cayenne , the capital of the French colony. After only 18 months, he was forced to return home due to his health.

Naming

Many birds were named after Leschenault, including the Sand Plover ( Charadrius leschenaultii ), the White-Crowned Forktail ( Enicurus leschenaulti ) and the Sirkarkuckuck ( Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii ).

In addition, the plant genus Lechenaultia R.Br. from the Goodeniaceae family named after him.

literature

  • Biographies for Birdwatchers. Mearns and Mearns, ISBN 0-12-487422-3
  • Steve Reynolds: Nicolas Baudin's Scientific Expedition To The Terres Australes. In: Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc .: MLSSA Journal. No. 12, December 2001
  • Edward Duyker : François Péron: An Impetuous Life: Naturalist and Voyager. Miegunyah / MUP, Melb., 2006, ISBN 978-0-522-85260-8 .
  • Jean Fornasiero, Peter Monteath and John West-Sooby: Encountering Terra Australis: the Australian voyages of Nicholas Baudin and Matthew Flinders. Wakefield Press, Kent Town, South Australia, 2004, ISBN 1-86254-625-8
  • Frank Horner: The French Reconnaissance: Baudin in Australia 1801-1803. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1987, ISBN 0-522-84339-5 .
  • Dr. Hoefer: Nouvelle biography générale. Firmin Didot, Paris 1852–1866, 46 volumes

Individual evidence

  1. Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names . Extended Edition. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Free University Berlin Berlin 2018. [1]

Web links