Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) 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 ...
.
Biography
Gaudichaud was born in
Angoulême
Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...
, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
informally at
Cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cog ...
and Angoulême, and then under
Robiquet in Paris, where he acquired a knowledge of botany from
Desfontaines Desfontaines is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* François-Georges Fouques Deshayes (known as Desfontaines-Lavallée or Desfontaines, 1733-1825), French writer and playwright.
* Henri Desfontaines (1876-1931), French film dire ...
and
Louis Richard. In April 1810 he was appointed
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
in the
military marine, and from July 1811 to the end of 1814 he served in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, .
He also studied
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
and
herbology
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...
.
His greatest claim to fame was serving as botanist on a circumglobal expedition from 1817 to 1820. He accompanied
Freycinet, who made the expedition on the ships ''Uranie'' and ''Physicienne''. The wreck of the ''Uranie'' in the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
, at the close of 1819, deprived him of more than half the botanical collections he had made in various parts of the world.
He is also known for his collections in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
In 1831 Gaudichaud sailed on ''L'Herminie'' to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, visiting
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. In 1836 he undertook a third voyage, circumnavigating the globe on ''La Bonite''.
He died in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Legacy
Gaudichaud is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of South American lizards, ''
Ecpleopus gaudichaudii'' and the ''
Chilean marked gecko
The Chilean marked gecko (''Garthia gaudichaudii'') is a species of gecko endemic to the Chilean matorral ecoregion, found chiefly in the nation of Chile (Hogan & World Wildlife Fund 2013). The common name for this species is Chilean marked geck ...
''. Two Hawaiian species of flowering plant, in the genus
Scaevola are named after him,
Scaevola gaudichaudiana
''Scaevola gaudichaudiana'', the mountain naupaka, is a perennial shrub in the family Goodeniaceae.
The plant is endemic to Hawaii.
It was first described by Adelbert von Chamisso in 1832 in the journal ''Linnaea'' and was given the specific e ...
, and
Scaevola gaudichaudii
''Scaevola gaudichaudii'', the ridgetop naupaka, is a shrub in the family Goodeniaceae. The flowers are yellow.
The plant is endemic to Hawaii.
It was first described by William J. Hooker and George Arnott Walker-Arnott in 1832 in the ''Bota ...
.
As well as a genus of plants (in the family
Malpighiaceae) ''
Gaudichaudia'' which comes from South America.
He wrote various treatises, with memoirs on
potato blight
''Phytophthora infestans'' is an oomycete or water mold, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the serious potato and tomato disease known as late blight or potato blight. Early blight, caused by ''Alternaria solani'', is also often called "po ...
, the multiplication of bulbous plants, the increase in diameter of
dicotyledonous plants, and other subjects.
Principal works
*''Flore des îles Malouines'' (''Flora of the Falkland Islands'')
*''Mémoire sur les Cycadées'' (''Treatise on the Cycads'')
*''Voyage de l'Uranie'' (''Voyage of the Uranus'')
*''Lettre sur l'organographie et la physiologie'', addressed to Monsieur de Mirbel, in ''Archives de Botanique'', T. II, 1833 (''Letter on Oceanography and Physiology'')
*''Recherches générales sur l'organographie'' (''General Research on Oceanography'')
*''Mémoire sur le Cissus hydrophora'' (''Treatise on Cissus hydrophora'')
*''Voyage Autour du Monde Executé pendant les années 1836 et 1837 sur la corvette La Bonite'' (''Voyage of the Bonita'')
*''Notes relatives à l'organographie et à la physiologie des végétaux monocotylés''
References
External links
Voyage de l'Uranie, BotaniqueAt
Biodiversity Heritage LibraryCharles Gaudichaud-Beaupré , Botanical Cabinet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudichaud-Beaupre, Charles
1789 births
1854 deaths
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
Botanists active in Australia
French phycologists
Bryologists
Pteridologists
Botanists with author abbreviations
19th-century French botanists
French mycologists