Famous French Botanists

While in prison, in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War, army pharmacist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier was forced to eat potatoes, which were considered fit only for prison ration and animal feed back then. Parmentier later persuaded the Paris Faculty of Medicine to declare potatoes edible and popularized them in France.

French botanist Carolus Clusius is remembered for his pioneering contribution to modern botany. He taught at the University of Leiden and was instrumental in the development of Hortus Botanicus Leiden. He is also remembered for his extensive study of tulip plants, which later encouraged the Dutch tulip industry.

Henri Dutrochet was a French physician, physiologist, and botanist. Dutrochet is best remembered for his investigation into osmosis. He is also credited with discovering cells in plants and cell biology. Henri Dutrochet’s works earned him several awards including the Académie Française's prize for experimental physiology.

Félix Archimède Pouchet, the father of French naturalist Georges Pouchet, is remembered for his belief in the spontaneous generation of life from non-living matter, a theory that was discarded after Louis Pasteur proved that microorganisms existed in the air. A professor and a naturalist, he penned the iconic work Hétérogénie.

Born to famous botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle had initially studied law but switched to botany later. Part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, he made significant contributions to phytogeography. He also called the inaugural International Botanical Congress for standardizing botanical nomenclature.

Starting his career as a botany demonstrator at the Jardin du Roi, French botanist Antoine de Jussieu later went on to establish his own principles of plant classification. He also taught at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle and practiced medicine, mostly treating the poor and the needy.