Antonino (or ''Antonius'') de Bivona-Bernardi (1774 or 24 October 1778 – 1837) was a Sicilian

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, bryologist and phycologist. He was born in Messina, but was orphaned as a child, and moved to Palermo with the uncle who adopted him. He originally pursued law, but changed his studies to the

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

and studied botany under Giuseppe Tineo, director of the Palermo Botanical Garden. After graduating, he travelled to Naples and elsewhere in Italy, making the acquaintance of scientists such as

Michele Tenore Michele Tenore (5 May 1780 – 19 July 1861) was an Italian botanist active in Naples, Italy. Tenore studied at the University of Naples, receiving his medical degree in 1800. Then he was a friend of botanists Domenico Maria Leone Cirillo (1739– ...

and

Vincenzo Petagna Vincenzo Petagna (Naples, 17 January 1734 – 6 October 1810) was an Italian biologist, physician and entomologist. He was appointed as director of the small botanical garden pertaining to the Monastery of Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto (associate ...

. Professor

Francesco Ferrara Francesco Ferrara (1810–1900) was an Italian economist, and political scientist. He helped introduce the classical economic theories of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and J. S. Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an Engl ...

of Palermo entered a public dispute about deposits had found in Sicily, which he (Antonino), had discovered and thought were fossils. He returned to Palermo upon the death of his uncle, and began to publish botanical works that had great impact in Italy and Europe. He founded the scientific journal "L'Iride" ("The Iris") and obtained the post of Inspector-General of Waters and Forests, but died in Palermo during the

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic of 1837. His son Andrea Bivona was an agronomist and naturalist. The

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

Bivonaea ''Bivonaea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. Its native range is Central Mediterranean. Species: *''Bivonaea lutea ''Bivonaea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. Its n ...

'' and '' Bivonella'' (type of Fungi) are named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bivona-Bernardi, Antonino de 1774 births 1837 deaths 19th-century Italian botanists Scientists from Messina