René Paul Raymond Capuron (20 October 1921 – 24 August 1971) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

botanist. Capuron was responsible for an extensive amount of work on the tree

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Several tree

taxa In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

with the specific epithet of ''capuronii'' honor his name, examples being ''

Podocarpus capuronii ''Podocarpus capuronii'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Habitat and range ''Podocarpus capuronii'' is native to the highlands of Madagascar, where it ranges from 1,320 to 2,800 meters elevation. ...

'' and ''

Schizolaena capuronii ''Schizolaena capuronii'' is a tree in the family Sarcolaenaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The specific epithet is for the French botanist René Capuron René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-spea ...

''.

Works

Highlights of his work include: *''M. arillata'' — a new species of '' Mauloutchia'', formed from the collection of '' Myristicaceae'' specimens. *''Takhtajania perrieri'' — the only extant representative of the family '' Winteraceae''. Capuron was the first to rediscover the plant, following its last sighting by

Henri Perrier de la Bathie Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mo ...

, back in 1909.

Bibliography

*''Essai d'introduction à l'étude de la flore forestière de Madagascar'', Tananarive, ''Inspection Générale des Eaux & Forêts'', 1957, 125 pp. *''Rhopalocarpacées''. In: ''Flore de Madagascar et des Comores'', vol. 127, Paris, 1963, 41 pp. *''Révision des Sapindacées de Madagascar et des Comores''. In: ''Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle'', t. 19, Paris, 1969, 189 pp.

Legacy

Capuron is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of chameleon, '' Calumma capuroni'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Madagascar. He is also honored in the names of several species of plant, also endemic to Madagascar. Such as '' Aponogeton capuronii'', ''

Bulbophyllum capuronii ''Bulbophyllum capuronii'' is a species of orchid in the genus '' Bulbophyllum''. The Latin specific epithet of ''capuronii'' is in honor of the French botanist René Capuron. It is native to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ) ...

'', ''

Dalbergia capuronii ''Dalbergia capuronii'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss. The Latin specific epithet of ''capuronii'' is in honor of the French botanist René Capuron René ('' bor ...

'', ''

Euphorbia capuronii ''Euphorbia capuronii'' is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss. The Latin specific epithet of ''capuronii'' is in honor of the French botanist René Capuron René ('' b ...

'', ''

Millettia capuronii ''Millettia capuronii'' is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Madagascar. The Latin specific epithet of ''capuronii'' is in honor of the French botanist René Capuron René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) ...

'', '' Perrierodendron capuronii'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Staufferia capuronii'', ''

Stephanostegia capuronii ''Stephanostegia capuronii'' is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The Latin specific epithet of ''capuronii'' is in honor of the French botanist René Capuron René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in Fren ...

'' and ''

Tabernaemontana capuronii ''Tabernaemontana capuronii'' is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is found in Madagascar. The Latin specific epithet of ''capuronii'' is in honor of the French botanist René Capuron René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in Fren ...

''.

References

1921 births 1971 deaths 20th-century French botanists 20th-century French scientists {{france-botanist-stub