Charles Henri Marie Flahault (3 October 1852 – 3 February 1935) was a French

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 ...

, among the early pioneers of

phytogeography Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

phytosociology Phytosociology, also known as phytocoenology or simply plant sociology, is the study of groups of species of plant that are usually found together. Phytosociology aims to empirically describe the vegetative environment of a given territory. A speci ...

, and forest

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

. The word '' relevé'' for a plant community sample is his invention.

Early life and education

Flahault was born in

Bailleul, Nord Bailleul (; ''Belle'' in Dutch) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located in French Flanders, from the Belgian border and northwest of Lille. Population Heraldry Media Bailleul is the birthplace of French film ...

, and received his Baccalauréat de Lettres at

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

in 1872, after which he became a gardener at the Jardin des Plantes de Paris. He was noticed by

Joseph Decaisne Joseph Decaisne (7 March 1807 – 8 January 1882) was a French botanist and agronomist. He became an ''aide-naturaliste'' to Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (1797-1853), who served as the chair of rural botany. It was during this time that he began to stu ...

(1807–1882), who gave him private lessons, after which he entered the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in 1874 to study in the laboratory of Philippe Van Tieghem (1839–1914), obtaining his doctoral degree in biology in 1878. He continued his studies at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

in 1879 together with

Gaston Bonnier Gaston Eugène Marie Bonnier (9 April 1853 in Paris – 2 January 1922) was a French botanist and plant ecologist. Biography Bonnier first studied at École Normale Supérieure in Paris from 1873 to 1876. Together with Charles Flahault, he st ...

Career

In 1881 joined the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

where in 1883 he became professor of

botany 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 w ...

, and in 1890 he founded the ''Institut de Botanique''. The Swiss botanist

Josias Braun-Blanquet Josias Braun-Blanquet (3 August 1884 – 20 September 1980) was an influential phytosociologist and botanist. Braun-Blanquet was born in Chur, Switzerland and died in Montpellier, France. Biography Work In Josias Braun-Blanquet's dissertation, s ...

was one of his students In 1888 Flahault was elected member of the

Royal Physiographic Society in Lund The Royal Physiographic Society in Lund ( sv, Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapet i Lund), is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. It was founded in Lund, on December 2, 1772, and received a Royal Charter by Gustav III, on March 6, 1778.

, 1905 to the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societeten i Uppsala), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. ...

(1905), and in 1907 he was awarded an honorary doctor at Uppsala University. He resided in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

until his death, and is buried in that city's Cimetière Saint Lazare.

Legacy

Several plant species have been named to his honour.IPNI list of species named ''flahaultii''
/ref>

Work

*''Recherches sur l’accroissement terminal de la racine chez les phanérogames'' (thèse de doctorat), G. Masson, Paris, 1878 (198 pp., 8 pl.) *''Observations sur les modifications des végétaux suivant les conditions physiques du milieu'', An. Sc. Nat. Bot. 6, VII, p. 93-125, 1878 (avec

). *''Nouvelles observations sur les modifications des végétaux suivant les conditions physiques du milieu'', An. Sc. Nat. Bot. 6, IX, p. 159-207, (1878). *''Phénomènes périodiques de la végétation d’après les travaux météorologiques scandinaves'', 1878 *''Nouvelles observations sur les modifications des végétaux suivant les conditions physiques du milieu'', B.S.B.F., XXXVI, p. 346-350, (1879). *''Distribution des végétaux dans les régions moyennesde la presqu’île scandinave'', 1879 (avec Gaston Bonnier) *''Révision des Nostocacées Hétérocystées contenues dans les principaux herbiers de France'', 1886-1888 (avec Bornet) (réimprimé en 1959) *''Sur quelques plantes vivant dans le test calcaire des Mollusques'', B.S.B.F., 36, 1889. *''La répartition géographique des végétaux dans un coin du Languedoc (département de l’Hérault)'', Montpellier, 1893 *''Projet de carte botanique, forestière et agricole de la France'', 1894 *''Sur la flore de la Camargue et des alluvions du Rhône'', B.S.B.F., 41, 1894 (avec P. Combres). *''Au sujet de la carte botanique, forestière et agricole de la France, et des moyens de l’exécuter'', 1896 *''La flore de la vallée de Barcelonnette'', 1897 *''La distribution géographique des végétaux dans la région méditerranéenne française'', Paris, 1897 (publié par Gaussen en 1937) *''Essai d’une carte botanique et forestière de la France'', 1897 *''La flore et la végétation de la France'', Klincksieck, 1901 *''La flore et la végétation de la France'', introduction à la ''Flore de France'' de H. Coste, Paris, 1901 *''Les limites supérieures de la végétation forestière et les prairies pseudo-alpines en France'', ''R.E.F''., 1901 *''Premier essai de nomenclature phytogéographique'', Bulletin de la Société languedocienne de géographie, Montpellier, 1901 *''La nomenclature en géographie botanique'',

Annales de Géographie The ''Annales de Géographie'' is a French journal devoted to geography, first published in 1891. From the start the journal was an influential and respected academic journal. History The ''Annales de Géographie'' was founded in 1891 by Paul Vid ...

, X, 1901 *''La paléobotanique dans ses rapports avecla végétation actuelle'', Klincksieck, Paris, 1903 *''Les hauts sommets et la vie végétale'', La Montagne, Club alpin français, 1904 *''Rapport au sujet des jardins botaniques de l’Aigoual'', Montpellier, 1904 *''Nouvelle flore coloriée de poche des Alpes et des Pyrénées'', Série 1, Librairie des Sciences naturelles Paul Klincksieck, 1906 (volume II de la collection) *''Les jardins alpins'', A.G., 1906 *''Préface'' de lHortus Vilmorianus'', 1906 *''Introduction'' au ''Catalogue des plantes vasculaires dans le département du Var'' par Albert et Jahandiez, 1908. *''Nouvelle flore coloriée de poche des Alpes et des Pyrénées'', Série 2, Librairie des Sciences naturelles Paul Klincksieck, 1908. *''Rapport sur la nomenclature phytogéographique'' (avec

Carl Joseph Schröter Carl Joseph Schröter (19 December 1855 – 7 February 1939) was a Swiss botanist born in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. From 1874 he studied natural sciences at ''Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule'' (ETH Zurich), where one of his early influen ...

(1855–1939)), Actes du II^e Congrès international de botanique, Wildemann, Bruxelles, 1910 *''Nouvelle flore coloriée de poche des Alpes et des Pyrénées'', Série 3, Librairie des Sciences naturelles Paul Klincksieck, 1912. *''Notice sur les travaux scientifiques'', Firmin et Montane, Montpellier, 1917 *''Les Causses du Midi de la France'', Bulletin de la Société languedocienne de Géographie, III-3, IV, V-1, 1932-1934. *''La distribution géographique des végétaux dans la région méditerranéenne française'', Encyclopédie biologique Lechevalier, 1937.

References

*Emberger (J. M.), ''Herboristions en zig-zag, journal d’un botaniste'', Les Presses du Languedoc, Montpellier, 1999. . *Emberger (Louis), ''Charles Flahault'' (notice nécrologique), Revue générale de botanique, 1936, 48, 1-48. *Emberger (Louis) et Harant (Hervé), ''Histoire de la botanique à Montpellier'', 1959 *Gaussen (Henri), ''Allocution prononcée le 12 juillet 1936 à l’occasion de l’inauguration de la stèle C. Flahault à l’arboretum de l’Hort-de-Dieu'', plaquette publiée par le Comité du souvenir Charles Flahault, Causse, Graille, Castelnau, Montpellier, 1936. *Guinier (Philippe), ''Charles Flahault 1852-1935'', Revue des eaux et forêts, tome LXXIII, pp. 397–411 (mai 1935). *Marres (Paul), ''Allocution prononcée le 12 juillet 1936 à l’occasion de l’inauguration de la stèle C. Flahault à l’arboretum de l’Hort-de-Dieu'', plaquette publiée par le Comité du souvenir Charles Flahault, Causse, Graille, Castelnau, Montpellier, 1936. {{DEFAULTSORT:Flahault, Charles 1852 births 1935 deaths University of Paris alumni 19th-century French botanists French ecologists 20th-century French botanists University of Montpellier faculty Members of the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund National Museum of Natural History (France) people Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala