Noël Bernard

Noël Bernard (born March 13, 1874 in Paris , † January 16, 1911 in Saint-Benoît (Vienne) ) was a French botanist .

Life

Noël Bernard was the son of the textile merchant François Bernard, who died when Noël was five years old. Noël studied at the École normal supérieure de la rue d'Ulm and graduated with three bachelor's degrees in mathematics, physics and natural sciences. He stayed at the École normal supérieure and wrote his doctoral thesis on orchids from late 1898 to late 1901 under the guidance of Julien Noël Costantin . After completing his doctorate, Bernard became an assistant professor in Caen . In 1908 he became a professor at the University of Poitiers . In 1911 he died of tuberculosis .

Orchids

While orchid seeds germinate successfully in nature in a wide variety of environments, propagation from seeds has been impossible for gardeners . In 1899, Bernard discovered that the seeds of the orchid genus Neottia germinated in fruit that was stored under fallen leaves and was infected with mold . So it was clear that the molds are necessary for germination ( mycorrhiza ). In 1903 Bernard propagated the seeds of a Laeliocattleya hybrid in a mold culture that was obtained from the roots of the mother plant. This laid the foundation for the horticultural propagation of orchids from seeds.

Later scientists found that it is not the molds themselves that are needed for germination, but that the fungi make the necessary sugar molecules accessible. In particular, Lewis Knudson (1884-1958) from the Cornell University has this extremely distinguished.

Prices

In December 1910, shortly before his death, Bernard received the Saintour Prize from the French Académie des Sciences .

Works

• N. Bernard: L'évolution dans la symbiose. Les orchidées et leurs champignons commensau . In: Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. Band 9 , 1909, pp. 1-1196 .

literature

• Marc-André Selosse, Bernard Boullard, David Richardson: Noël Bernard (1874–1911): orchids to symbiosis in a dozen years, one century ago . In: Symbiosis . tape 54 , no. 2 , 2011, p. 61-68 , doi : 10.1007 / s13199-011-0131-5 .
• Teoh Eng Soon: Orchids of Asia . 3. Edition. Times Editions - Marshall Cavendish, Singapore 2005, ISBN 981-261-015-4 , pp. 33-39 .