Louis René Étienne Tulasne, a.k.a. Edmond Tulasne (12 September 1815 – 22 December 1885) was a French botanist and mycologist born in

Azay-le-Rideau Azay-le-Rideau () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Château The château of Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux. Built on an island in the river Indre, it ...

. He originally studied law at Poitiers, but his interest later turned to botany. As a young man he assisted botanist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire (1779–1853) with studies of Brazilian flora. From 1842 until 1872 he worked as a naturalist at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

in Paris. In 1854 he succeeded

Adrien-Henri de Jussieu Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (23 December 1797 – 29 June 1853) was a French botanist. Born in Paris as the son of botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1824 with a treatise of the plant family Eupho ...

(1797–1853) as a member of the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at th ...

. He died in

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...

on 22 December 1885, age 70. Tulasne's specialized study was the science of

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogen ...

. His microscopic investigation of fungi, particularly parasitic species, contributed much to the understanding on the complexities of their nature and development. He is credited with introducing the concept of " pleomorphy" in regard to fungi.Biography and Photo; Louis René Tulasne
Mushroom the Journal Pleomorphy states that an individual fungus, growing in different substrates can have dramatically different forms. In 1853 he introduced his views on the reproduction cycle of ''

Claviceps purpurea ''Claviceps purpurea'' is an ergot fungus that grows on the ears of rye and related cereal and forage plants. Consumption of grains or seeds contaminated with the survival structure of this fungus, the ergot sclerotium, can cause ergotism in h ...

'' (ergot). Around this time he also developed an interest in lichens, and in 1852 Tulasne published an anatomical and morphological study of this group. It was in this work he introduced the term to describe the asexual

fruiting body The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cy ...

found in many species of fungi. A number of mycological species, as well as the genera ''Tulasneinia'' and ''

Tulasnella ''Tulasnella'' is a genus of effused (patch-forming) fungi in the order Cantharellales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies), when visible, are typically smooth, ceraceous (waxy) to subgelatinous, frequently lilaceous to violet-grey, and formed on the und ...

'' (family

Tulasnellaceae The Tulasnellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Cantharellales. The family comprises mainly effused (patch-forming) fungi formerly referred to the " jelly fungi" or heterobasidiomycetes. Species are wood- or litter-rotting saprotrophs, but ...

) are named after him. He is credited with providing classification

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 nam ...

for the following genera: ''

Crucibulum ''Crucibulum'' is a genus in the Nidulariaceae, a family of fungi whose fruiting bodies resemble tiny egg-filled bird's nests. Often called "splash cups", the fruiting bodies are adapted for spore dispersal by using the kinetic energy of fall ...

'', '' Glomus'', ''

Sebacina ''Sebacina'' is a genus of fungi in the family Sebacinaceae. Its species are mycorrhizal, forming a range of associations with trees and other plants. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are produced on soil and litter, sometimes partly encrusting stems ...

'', ''

Terfezia ''Terfezia'' (Berber: Tirfas) is a genus of truffle-like fungi within the Pezizaceae family. ''Terfezia'' species are commonly known as desert truffles. Some authorities consider this the type genus of the family Terfeziaceae, although phylog ...

'', '' Tilletia'' and ''

Hypomyces ''Hypomyces'' is a genus of parasitic ascomycete fungi found in Europe, North America, Australia, and parts of China. The genus contains 53 species. Better known species include the lobster mushroom (''Hypomyces lactifluorum'') and the bolete eat ...

'' (the latter genus with Elias Magnus Fries). He also produced some important

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s. For example, in 1855, he

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, news ...

two papers on the

magnoliid Magnoliids (or Magnoliidae or Magnolianae) are a clade of flowering plants. With more than 10,000 species, including magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, tulip tree and many others, it is the third-largest group of ang ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Monimiaceae The Monimiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales.Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Monimiaceae" At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Botanical Databases At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links' ...

,Lisa DeCesare. 2006. "Tulasne Brothers Exhibit" ''Newsletter of the friends of the Farlow'' 47(spring 2006):6–7. Harvard University Herbarium. (See External Links below). in which he included what are now the Lauralean families

Siparunaceae Siparunaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales. It consists of two genera of woody plants, with essential oils: '' Glossocalyx'' in West Africa and '' Siparuna'' in the neotropics. ''Glossocalyx'' is monospecific ...

and

Atherospermataceae The Atherospermataceae, commonly known as the southern sassafrases, are a family of broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs. The family includes 14 species in seven genera. The atherosperms are today mostly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere, w ...

.Louis-René Tulasne. 1855. "Diagnoses nonnullas e Monimiacearum recensione tentata excerptas præmittit". ''Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, series 4, 3:29–144. (See External links below).Louis-René Tulasne (Ludovicus-Renatus Tulasne). 1855. "Monographia Monimiacearum, primum tentata". ''Archives du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle'' (Paris) 8:273–436.(See External links below). Tulasne published over 50 scientific articles during his career. Some of his best work was done in collaboration with his brother,

Charles Tulasne Charles Tulasne (5 September 1816 – 28 August 1884) was a French physician, mycologist and illustrator born in Langeais in the département of Indre-et-Loire. He received his medical doctorate in 1840 and practiced medicine in Paris until 18 ...

(1816–1884), such as "''Fungi hypogaei''" (1851) and the three-volume "''Selecta fungorum carpologia''" (1861–65). The latter work is known for its superb detailed illustrations, being created by Charles Tulasne. Many of his works were published under the Latinized name "Ludovicus-Renatus".

References

External links

''Newsletter of the friends of the Farlow'', Number 47CollectionsHarvard University Herbaria

page 383, Table des articlesView Book (external)Annales des sciences naturelles ... Quatrième série. Botanique. Tome IIITitlesBiodiversity Heritage Library

page 273View BookArchives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Tome 8TitlesBiodiversity Heritage Library

IPNI
List of plants described and co-described by Tulasne. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tulasne, Edmond 1815 births 1885 deaths 19th-century French botanists French mycologists French Roman Catholics Members of the French Academy of Sciences People from Indre-et-Loire