André Aubréville (30 November 1897, in

Pont-Saint-Vincent Pont-Saint-Vincent () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Geography The river Madon flows into the Moselle in the commune. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a li ...

(Meurthe-et-Moselle) – 11 August 1982, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

) was a French botanist, professor at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7. ...

in Paris and a member of the Academy of Sciences. He was the first scientist to introduce the term "

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused ...

" (in his 1949 book: ''Climats, forêts et désertification de l'Afrique tropicale'' (Climates, Forests, and Desertification of Tropical Africa), and wrote a number of floras of former French colonies.

Biography

Following his service (as a youth) in the First World War, André Aubréville entered the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

(promotion 20 "special") and obtained an engineering degree in 1922. Attracted by the botany of

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fore ...

s, he then studied at the École nationale des eaux et forêts in Nancy, graduating as ''Ingénieur des Eaux et Forêts des Colonies'' (Engineer of Waters and Forests of the Colonies) in 1924. Appointed to the

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre ...

in 1925, he wrote ''La Forêt coloniale. Les forêts de l'Afrique occidentale française'' in 1938 which was not only a treatise on tropical sylviculture but a tract on the politics of forestry. In 1938, following this important publication, he was appointed Inspector General of waters and forests for Afrique Occidentale Française (A.O.F.) - French West Africa. His publications on tropical Africa are widely recognized for their comprehensive approach to the subject: which include, in addition to the scientific treatment, practical aspects such as forest management, and anthropogenic factors. In parallel with his position in the Forest Services, he served as president of the Société botanique de France in 1951–1952. In 1955, retired from his position as Inspector General, he was appointed professor at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

in 1958, thus beginning a second career as holder of the chair of Phanerogamy following

Jean-Henri Humbert Jean-Henri Humbert (24 January 1887 – 20 October 1967) was a French botanist born in Paris. He studied physics, chemistry and natural sciences in Rennes and Paris, and following a scientific excursion to Madagascar, he worked as a univers ...

. At this time, the botanical publications at the Museum were in a transition period: one of the major series had ended, the General Flora of Indochina by Paul Henri Lecomte, and human resources had been reduced. None-the-less, André Aubréville wished to provide French-speaking overseas territories (colonies or former colonies) with excellent encyclopedic Floras. After ensuring the continuation of the Flora of Madagascar and the Comoros, he launched four major botanical projects. He revived the ''General Flora of Indochina'' in the form of ''Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam''. He directed work on ''Flore du Gabon'' (Flora of Gabon) and ''Flore du Cameroun'' (Flora of Cameroun), along the lines of his previous flora of tropical Africa, and finally, he initiated another major series: ''Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et dépendances'' (Flora of New Caledonia and Dependencies), of which he wrote the first volume concerning the family Sapotaceae. Work on these five large flora was later managed by his successors

Jean-François Leroy Jean-François Leroy (; 24 September 1729 - 1791) was a French architect. For the Prince of Condé, he worked on the Château of Chantilly, the Palais Bourbon, and the Hôtel de Lassay, where he replaced in 1780. Biography Leroy was born in Ch ...

and Philippe Morat, and they are still being published (in 2015). He was elected a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at ...

in 1968.

Selected publications

*André Aubréville
La Forêt coloniale. Les forêts de l'Afrique occidentale française
Paris, Société d'éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales, 1938 *André Aubréville (3 vol.)
Flore forestière de la Côte d'Ivoire
Paris, Larose, 1936 *André Aubréville
Climats, forêts et désertification de l'Afrique tropicale
Paris, Société d’éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales, 1949, 351 p. *André Aubréville, Flore forestière soudano-guinéenne : A.O.F. - Cameroun - A.E.F, Paris, Société d’éditions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales, 1949, 523 p. *André Aubréville (dir.) et al. (35 vol.,en cours de parution), Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam : supplément à la Flore générale de l'Indochine de H. Lecomte, Paris, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 1960 *André Aubréville (dir.) et al. (38 vol.,en cours de parution), Flore du Gabon, Paris, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 1961 *André Aubréville (dir.) et al. (40 vol.,en cours de parution), Flore du Cameroun, Paris, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 1963 *André Aubréville (dir.) et al. (26 vol.,en cours de parution), Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et dépendances, Paris, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, 1967

Taxa honouring him

The genus '' Aubrevillea'' Pellegr.,pdf
/ref> in the family Fabaceae honours Aubréville. It is composed of two species: '' Aubrevillea kerstingii'' (Harms) Pellegr. and '' Aubrevillea platicarpa'' Pellegr. Many other species are named for André Aubréville: *

Araliaceae The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguis ...

**''

Polyscias aubrevillei ''Polyscias'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araliaceae. They bear pinnately compound leaves. In 2003, a checklist and nomenclator was published for Araliaceae.David G. Frodin and Rafaël Govaerts. 2003. ''World Checklist and B ...

'' (Bernardi) BernardiCandollea 26(1): 26. 1971 (

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both bota ...

: ''Sciadopanax aubrevillei'' Bernardi) * Chrysobalanaceae **'' Maranthes aubrevillei'' (Pellegr.) Prance ex F.White(

: ''Parinari aubrevillei'' Pellegr.) * Crassulaceae **'' Kalanchoe aubrevillei'' Raym.-Hamet ex Cufod. *

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

**'' Bridelia aubrevillei'' Pellegr. **'' Croton aubrevillei'' J.Léonard **'' Drypetes aubrevillei'' Leandri **''

Shirakiopsis aubrevillei ''Shirakiopsis aubrevillei''''Shirakiopsis aubrevillei''.
The Plant List. (syn. ''Sapium aub ...

'' (Leandri) Esser (basionym: ''Sapium aubrevillei'' Leandri) *

Flacourtiaceae The Flacourtiaceae is a defunct family of flowering plants whose former members have been scattered to various families, mostly to the Achariaceae and Salicaceae. It was so vaguely defined that hardly anything seemed out of place there and it beca ...

**'' Homalium aubrevillei'' Keay *

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Mimosoideae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petals ...

***'' Newtonia aubrevillei'' (Pellegr.) Keay (basionym: ''Piptadenia aubrevillei'' Pellegr.) ***'' Calpocalyx aubrevillei'' Pellegr. **

Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name ''Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae ...

***'' Cassia aubrevillei'' Pellegr. ***'' Dialium aubrevillei'' Pellegr. ***'' Hymenostegia aubrevillei'' Pellegr. ***'' Hymenostegia neoaubrevillei'' J.Léonard (replacement name for ''Cynometra aubrevillei'' Pellegr. *

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncar ...

**'' Swietenia aubrevilleana'' Stehlé & Cusin *

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

**'' Bulbophyllum aubrevillei'' Bosser * Santalaceae **'' Okoubaka aubrevillei'' Pellegr. & Normand *

Sapotaceae 240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...

**'' Manilkara aubrevillei'' Sillans **'' Pouteria aubrevillei'' Bernardi **'' Synsepalum aubrevillei'' (Pellegr.) Aubrév. & Pellegr. (basionym : ''Sideroxylon aubrevillei'' Pellegr.) * Sterculiaceae **'' Pterygota aubrevillei'' Pellegr.Bulletin de la Société botanique de France 78: 441. 1931

References

External links

André Aubréville: publications listed by BnF
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubréville, André 20th-century French botanists 1897 births 1982 deaths École Polytechnique alumni