Joseph Decaisne (7 March 1807 – 8 January 1882) was a French

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and agronomist. He became an ''aide-naturaliste'' to Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (1797–1853), who served as the chair of rural

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. It was during this time that he began to study plants brought back by various travelers like those of Victor Jacquemont (1801–1832) from Asia. Decaisne used

applied research Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...

, most notably on the

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

of the madder, the yam and the

ramie Ramie (pronounced: , ; from Malay ), ''Boehmeria nivea'', is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to tall;

. He was also interested in

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

Biography

Although born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium, he exercised his activity exclusively in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He entered in 1824 as a gardener at the ''

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...

'' (French museum of natural history) and became, in 1832, head of the ''carré des semis'' section. He also worked at the '' Jardin des Plantes'' and collaborated with

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

. In 1847 he chaired Statistical Agriculture department in the College de France. In 1850, Decaisne followed

Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel (27 March 1776 – 12 September 1854) was a French botanist and politician. He was a founder of the science of plant cell biology, cytology. A native Parisian, at the age of twenty, he became an assistant- ...

(1776–1854) as the chair of

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

at the Museum. In 1854 he participated in the creation of the ''

Société botanique de France The Société botanique de France (SBF) is a French learned society founded on 23 April 1854. At its inaugural meeting it stated its purpose as "to contribute to the progress of botany and related sciences and to facilitate, by all means at its di ...

''. The genera '' Decaisnea'' Hook.f. & Thomson (Lardizabalaceae), ''Decaisnea'' Brongn. syn. of '' Prescottia'' Lindl., '' Decaisnina'' Tiegh. (

Loranthaceae Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are '' Nuytsia floribunda'' (the ...

), '' Decaisnella'' (

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of fungi in the family Massariaceae), and ''Decaisnea'' Lindl. syn. of '' Tropidia'' Lindl. (

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

), were named in his honour. He died in Paris on 8 January 1882.

Contributions to plant taxonomy

He described the following genera of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s: ''Capanea'' (now part of '' Kohleria'') and '' Chrysothemis'' of the family

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Ges ...

; '' Sautiera'' (

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae () is a Family (biology), family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are Tropics, tropical Herbaceous plant, herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epip ...

); '' Lepinia'', '' Rhazya'' (

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (, from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Notable mem ...

); '' Vancouveria'' (with C.Morren) (

Berberidaceae The Berberidaceae are a family (biology), family of 18 genera of flowering plants commonly called the barberry family. This family is in the order (biology), order Ranunculales. The family contains about 700 known species, of which the majority ...

); '' Ostryopsis'' ( Betulaceae); '' Dipterygium'' ( Capparidaceae); '' Brassaiopsis'', '' Cuphocarpus''*, '' Dendropanax''*, '' Didymopanax''*, '' Fatsia''*, '' Oreopanax''*, '' Stilbocarpa''*, (* with Planch.) (

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 commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely ...

); '' Berneuxia'' ( Diapensiaceae); '' Scyphogyne'' (

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

); '' Akebia'', '' Boquila'' (

Lardizabalaceae Lardizabalaceae is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. The family has been universally recognized by taxonomists, including the APG II system (2003; unchanged from the APG system of 1998), which places it in the order Ranunculales, ...

); '' Galtonia'' (

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

s.l. or Hyacinthaceae); '' Treculia'' Decne. ex Trecul (

Moraceae Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...

; '' Camptotheca'' ( Nyssaceae or

Cornaceae The Cornaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera, '' Alangium'' and '' Cornus''. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, ...

); '' Ephippiandra'' ( Monimiaceae); '' Pseudais'' (

Thymelaeaceae The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family (biology), family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera (listed below) and 898 species.Zachary S. Rogers (2009 onwards)A World Checklist of Thymelaeaceae (version 1) Missouri Botanical Garden Webs ...

); '' Allardia'', '' Lecocarpus'', '' Wollastonia'' DC. ex Decne. (

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

); '' Gymnotheca'' ( Saururaceae); '' Bougueria'' (

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family or veronica family, is a large, diverse family (biology), family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as Antirrhinum, snapdragon and Digitalis, foxglove. It is unrelated ...

); '' Docynia'' (

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

); '' Seetzenia'' R.Br. ex Decne.(

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...

); '' Deherainia'' ( Theophrastaceae); ''Lopholepis'' (now a synonym of '' Perotis'' )(

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

); '' Asterostemma'', '' Atherandra'', '' Baeolepis'' Decne. ex Moq., '' Barjonia'', '' Blepharodon'', '' Calostigma'', '' Camptocarpus'', '' Decabelone'', '' Decanema'', '' Dictyanthus'', '' Glossonema'', '' Gongronema'' (Endl.) Decne., '' Harpanema'', '' Hemipogon'', '' Hoodia'' Sweet ex Decne., '' Ibatia'', '' Macropetalum'' Burch. ex Decne., '' Melinia'', ''Mitostigma'' (now part of '' Philibertia''), '' Nautonia'', '' Nephradenia'', '' Orthosia'', '' Pentopetia'', '' Peplonia'', '' Periglossum'', '' Pherotrichis'', '' Polystemma'', '' Ptycanthera'', '' Pycnoneurum'', '' Pycnostelma'' Bunge ex Decne., '' Rhyssostelma'', '' Riocreuxia'', '' Tacazzea'', '' Tassadia'', '' Trichosandra'' (

Asclepiadaceae The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, it was treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, twinin ...

or Apocynaceae s.l.); '' Amorphophallus'' Blume ex Decne. (

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

) and '' Leptopus'' (

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 Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

s.l. or Phyllanthaceae).

Works

* ''Le jardin fruitier du Museum'' (The fructiferous garden of the Museum) in 9 volumes (1858–1875) * ''Traité général de botanique descriptive et analytique'' (General Treatise of descriptive and analytic botany), Paris, Firmin-Didot, 1876 n collaboration with Emmanuel Le Maout">Emmanuel_Le_Maout.html" ;"title="n collaboration with Emmanuel Le Maout">n collaboration with Emmanuel Le MaoutEnglish edition 1873. * ''Mexicanas plantas'' (Plants of Mexico, 1872–1886 [in collaboration with others].
available at Botanicus.org

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Decaisne, Joseph 1807 births 1882 deaths Scientists from Paris 19th-century French botanists French agronomists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Botanists active in Europe Botanists with author abbreviations Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Members of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences Foreign members of the Royal Society Burials at Montmartre Cemetery