José Arechavaleta (1838–1912) José Arechavaleta (27 September 1838, Urioste, near

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

– 16 June 1912,

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

) was a Spanish-born

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 ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

and naturalist, active in Uruguay. At the age of 18, he emigrated to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, where he made the acquaintanceship of

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 ...

José Ernesto Gibert (1818–1886). In 1862 he obtained a degree in pharmacy, and later taught classes in botany,

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and natural history at the

University of the Republic The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America and t ...

. In 1892 he was appointed general director of the natural history museum in Montevideo, a position he kept until his death in 1912.JSTOR Global Plants
biography In Uruguay, he studied and collected insects from all parts of the country, being particularly interested in

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

. As a botanist, he published a major work on

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

native to the country. He is credited with establishing

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

laboratories at the University Institute of Experimental Hygiene. In 1899 the plant genus '' Arechavaletaia'' was named in his honor by

Carlos Luigi Spegazzini Carlo Luigi Spegazzini, in Spanish Carlos Luis Spegazzini (20 April 1858 – 1 July 1926), was an Italian-born Argentinian botanist and mycologist. On the 1881/1882 expedition led by Giacomo Bove to explore Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, the ...

Principal works

* ''Las gramíneas uruguayas'', 1894 -

Gramineae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

of Uruguay. * ''Flora uruguaya; enumeración y descripción breve de las plantas conocidas hasta hoy y de algunas nuevas que nacen espontaneamente y viven en la República Uruguaya'', 1901 - Uruguayan flora, list and brief description of the plants known in the Uruguayan Republic.

Honors

Some botanical species were named in Arechavaleta's honor: * (

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

) '' Cocos arechavaletana'' Barb.Rodr. * (

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

) '' Pavonia arechavaletana'' Krapov. & FryxellBonplandia (Corrientes) 19(1): 81 2010

References

1838 births 1912 deaths People from Bilbao Academic staff of the University of the Republic (Uruguay) 19th-century Spanish botanists Spanish emigrants to Uruguay Uruguayan botanists Uruguayan geologists Uruguayan entomologists {{Uruguay-botanist-stub