Jean Michel Claude Richard (16 August 1787 – 1868) was a noted
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
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 ...
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
, and
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...
, and a Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
Haute-Saône
Haute-Saône (; Arpitan: ''Hiôta-Sona''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
in 1816 as the colony's gardener-in-chief, but served without obvious distinction until the arrival in 1822 of Baron Jacques-François Roger (1787–1849) who entrusted to Richard the creation of an experimental garden on the left bank of the
Sénégal River
,french: Fleuve Sénégal)
, name_etymology =
, image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal ...
, near the village of Nghiao, and named it ''
Richard Toll
Richard Toll is a town in northern Senegal, lying on the south bank of the River Senegal, just east of Rosso. Originally a colonial town, it was named for the park of the Château de Baron Roger, laid out by botanist Jean Michel Claude Richard. ...
'' (toll means "garden" in the
Wolof language
Wolof (; Wolofal: ) is a language of Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language famil ...
). Richard was responsible for all plants, buildings, and facilities, and under his direction a number of new species were introduced to Senegal, including
banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
s,
manioc
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
, and
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
. In February 1824 Richard was sent to
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's m ...
. Directed on 30 July 1824 to keep a diary of his experiences, he developed a catalog of the garden's species, and left Senegal in 1825.
In January 1831 Richard became second director of the Jardin du Roy (now the Jardin de l'État) in the Île Bourbon (now
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...
), succeeding Nicolas Bréon. Under his leadership the garden achieved its golden age. He introduced some 3,000 plant species to the colony, by his reckoning, while studying
cryptogam
A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...
s,
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...
s, and
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...
s. He also sent
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
to the German specialist
Ferdinand Christian Gustav Arnold
Ferdinand Christian Gustav Arnold (24 February 1828 – 8 August 1901) was a German lichenologist and taxonomist born in Ansbach, Bavaria. Even as a high school student he showed an active interest in botany: "Ich und August Gattinger ... durchs ...
(1828–1901).
In retrospect, Richard's life has been marred by controversy. In 1841, when the young slave
Edmond Albius
Edmond Albius (1829 – 9 August 1880) was a horticulturalist from Réunion. Born into slavery, Albius became an important figure in the cultivation of vanilla. At the age of 12, he invented a technique for pollinating vanilla orchids quickly and ...
(1829–1880) discovered the process of hand-pollination of
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...
, Richard claimed to have discovered the technique three or four years earlier. His story created serious doubts about Albius' claims, despite the support for Albius of Féréol Marie Bellier de Beaumont (1759–1831), naturalist
Eugène Volcy Focard
Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754-1821),
*
Achille Richard
Achille Richard was a French botanist, botanical illustrator and physician (27 April 1794 in Paris – 5 October 1852).
Biography
Achille was the son of the botanist Louis-Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821). He was a pharmacist in the Frenc ...
(1794-1852), his son (A.Rich.)
* Olivier Jules Richard (1836-1896) (O.J.Rich.)
* Claude Richard fl.(C.Rich)
* Joseph Herve Pierre Richard (J.H.P.Rich.)
Selected works
* ''Catalogue du jardin de La Réunion'', 1 vol. in 8°, 113 pages, 1856.
References
* Guillaume Grandidier, ''Bibliographie de Madagascar'', vol. 2, Comité de Madagascar, 1935, page 862.
Aluka entry