Alire Raffeneau Delile
Encyclopedia
Alire Raffeneau Delile was a French
botanist.
medical school in 1796.
and Papyrus
. Director of the Cairo
botanical garden, he wrote the botanical
sections of Travel in Lower and Upper Egypt by Dominique Vivant
.
He made a cast of the Rosetta Stone
which allowed the reproduction of its Greek and Demotic
inscriptions in his Description de l'Égypte.
, and also asked to form an herbarium of all American plants that could be naturalized in France. He sent to Paris several cases of seeds and grains, and discovered some new graminea and presented them to Palisot de Beauvois
, who described them in his Agrostographie. Raffeneau made extensive explorations through the neighboring states, and, resigning in 1805, began the study of medicine
in New York. During an epidemic of scarlet fever
he was active in visiting the tenements of the poor, and in 1807 he obtained the degree of M.D.
in 1809.
In 1819, he was appointed professor of natural history
at the University of Montpellier
,
which post he retained until his death.
In 1832, he was named director of the botanical garden in Montpellier
. He reports planting two Maclura
saplings which can still be found there, and he added many species to its herbarium
.
He specialized in pteridophyte
s, mycology
, bryophyte
s and spermatophyte
s.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
botanist.
Biography
He studied botany with Jean Lemonnier, and was in the ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
medical school in 1796.
Egypt
He participated in Napoleon Bonaparte's Egypt Campaign where he described LotusLotus (plant)
Lotus identifies various plant taxa:* Nelumbo, a genus of aquatic plants with showy flowers** Nelumbo nucifera, the Sacred or Indian lotus** Nelumbo lutea, the American or Yellow lotus...
and Papyrus
Cyperus papyrus
Cyperus papyrus is a monocot belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a herbaceous perennial native to Africa, and forms tall stands of reed-like swamp vegetation in shallow water....
. Director of the Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
botanical garden, he wrote the botanical
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
sections of Travel in Lower and Upper Egypt by Dominique Vivant
Dominique Vivant
Dominique Vivant, Baron de Denon was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. He was appointed first director of the Louvre Museum by Napoleon after the Egyptian campaign of 1798-1801.-Biography:...
.
He made a cast of the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
which allowed the reproduction of its Greek and Demotic
Demotic (Egyptian)
Demotic refers to either the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Delta, or the stage of the Egyptian language following Late Egyptian and preceding Coptic. The term was first used by the Greek historian Herodotus to distinguish it from hieratic and...
inscriptions in his Description de l'Égypte.
United States
In 1802 he was appointed French vice consul at Wilmington, North CarolinaWilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, and also asked to form an herbarium of all American plants that could be naturalized in France. He sent to Paris several cases of seeds and grains, and discovered some new graminea and presented them to Palisot de Beauvois
Palisot de Beauvois
Ambroise Marie François Joseph Palisot, Baron de Beauvois 27 July 1752 Arras - 21 January 1820 Paris, was a French naturalist.Palisot collected insects in Oware, Benin, Saint Domingue, and the United States, during the period 1786 – 1797. Trained as a botanist, Palisot published a significant...
, who described them in his Agrostographie. Raffeneau made extensive explorations through the neighboring states, and, resigning in 1805, began the study of medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in New York. During an epidemic of scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
he was active in visiting the tenements of the poor, and in 1807 he obtained the degree of M.D.
Return to France
He returned to France, and graduated as doctor in medicine from the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in 1809.
In 1819, he was appointed professor of natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
at the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
,
which post he retained until his death.
In 1832, he was named director of the botanical garden in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. He reports planting two Maclura
Maclura
Maclura is a genus of flowering plants in the mulberry family, Moraceae. It includes the inedible Osage-orange, which is used as mosquito repellent and grown throughout the United States as a hedging plant.- Species :* Maclura africana...
saplings which can still be found there, and he added many species to its herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
.
He specialized in pteridophyte
Pteridophyte
The pteridophytes are vascular plants that produce neither flowers nor seeds, and are hence called vascular cryptogams. Instead, they reproduce and disperse only via spores. Pteridophytes include horsetails, ferns, club mosses, and quillworts...
s, mycology
Mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...
, bryophyte
Bryophyte
Bryophyte is a traditional name used to refer to all embryophytes that do not have true vascular tissue and are therefore called 'non-vascular plants'. Some bryophytes do have specialized tissues for the transport of water; however since these do not contain lignin, they are not considered to be...
s and spermatophyte
Spermatophyte
The spermatophytes comprise those plants that produce seeds. They are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants...
s.
Works
His works include (besides those already cited):- Sur les effets d'un poison de Java appelé l'upas tieuté, et sur les differentes espèces de strychnos (Paris, 1809)
- Mémoire sur quelques espèces de graminées propres à la Caroline du Nord (Versailles, 1815)
- Centurie des plantes de l'Amérique du Nord (Montpellier, 1820)
- Flore d'Égypte (5 vols., Paris, 1824)
- Centurie des plantes d'Afrique (Paris, 1827)
- De la culture de la patate douce, du crambe maritima et de l'oxalis crenata (Montpellier, 1836)