Julien Reverchon (August 3, 1837 – December 30, 1905) 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 ...

Biography

Childhood

Reverchon was born on August 3, 1837, in

Diémoz Diémoz () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Twin towns — sister cities Diémoz is twinned with: * Castelnuovo Belbo, Italy (1970) See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is ...

, France, to Jacques Maximilien and Florine (Pete) Reverchon. He was the brother of

Elisée Reverchon Elisée Reverchon (1834, Oullins, near Lyon – 1914, Miribel in the department of Ain) was a French botanical collector. His brother, Julien Reverchon (1837-1905), was also involved in the field of botany. A resident of Bollène (departmen ...

and . Reverchon displayed an interest in the natural world at a young age, and along with his brother amassed a collection of nearly 2,000 species of plants during his childhood.

Arrival in the United States

At the age of 19, Julien and his father emigrated from France to join Fourierist

Victor Prosper Considerant Victor Prosper Considerant (12 October 1808 – 27 December 1893) was a French utopian socialist philosopher and economist who was a disciple of Charles Fourier. Biography Considerant was born in Salins-les-Bains, Jura and studied at the É ...

's colony at

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,613,539, and was estimated to be 2,656,028 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, second-most populo ...

; his older brothers Elisée and Paul-Alphonse remained behind in France. The Reverchons arrived at La Réunion in December 1856, shortly before the formal dissolution of the colony. Maximilien received a plot of land southeast corner of the colony in exchange for their shares in the failed company. The family established a farm on the site and Reverchon began studying the local flora.

Family life and career

Reverchon married Marie Henri on July 24, 1864. They had two sons who would die as youths of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

. After abandoning botany for a few years, Reverchon resumed collecting plants in 1869, when he made an expedition with

Jacob Boll Jacob Boll (28 May 1828 – 29 September 1880) was a Swiss naturalist and entomologist especially noted for his exploration of the Texas Red Beds. Boll was born 1828 in Würenlos, Switzerland, and educated as a pharmacist in Switzerland and Germ ...

to collect fossils in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

. With subsequent collections, he contributed to the production of noted floras by

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 ...

and

Charles Sprague Sargent Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He published se ...

and the enrichment of many American collections. Reverchons´s plant specimens were distributed by

Allen Hiram Curtiss Allen Hiram Curtiss (c. 1845–1907) was an American botanist. He may have been the first professional botanist to reside in Florida. His work included the discovery of fern species at the Pineola Grotto. He collected many specimens and was an au ...

in his

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

-like series ''North American Plants''.

Later life and death

Reverchon taught botany in Dallas toward the end of his life. Reverchon was struck by a train on July 6, 1905, fracturing his arm and badly bruising his back while examining some bugs near the railroad track in

Greenville, Texas Greenville ( ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, located in Northeast Texas approximately northeast of Dallas, Texas, Dallas and northwest of Canton, Texas, Canton. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

. Reverchon never recovered from his injuries and died at his adopted son RM Freeman's home on December 30. At the time of his death, his home the Rose Cottage contained a rich

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

with more than 2,600 different species and 20,000 specimens.

Legacy

Dalea reverchonii ''Dalea reverchonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae, legume family known by the common name Comanche Peak prairie-clover. It is endemism, endemic to Texas in the United States, where it is known from Bosque County, Texas, Bosq ...

was first documented by Reverchon. Hedeoma reverchonii, Muhlenbergia reverchonii, Tradescantia reverchonii, and

Yucca reverchonii ''Yucca reverchonii'' Trelease, Annual Report of the Missouri Botanical Garden 22: 102, plate 108. 1911 is a plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, as well as to the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nue ...

are named in his honor. Reverchon's botanical collection was donated to the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis upon his death. The city of Dallas named

Reverchon Park Reverchon Park is a public park in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas. It was named for the French botanist Julien Reverchon. The park lies along Turtle Creek, a tributary of the Trinity River. Its main entrance is at Maple Avenue and ...

in his honor. In 2012, artist Kevin Obregon collaborated with the Friends of Reverchon Park to create a giant puppet of Julien Reverchon for Bridge-O-Rama's Parade of Giants, celebrating the opening of the

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Dallas, Texas, that spans the Trinity River (Texas), Trinity River. The bridge is named for Margaret Hunt Hill, an heiress and philanthropist. The bridge was constructed as part of the Tr ...

References

1837 births 1905 deaths 19th-century French botanists People from Isère {{France-scientist-stub