Michel Félix Dunal (24 October 1789 in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) 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 France, department of ...

– 29 July 1856 in Montpellier) was a French

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. He was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He held the chair of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

at the

University of Montpellier The University of 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 List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

from 1816 until his death in 1856. The

Solanaceous Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many mem ...

plant genus '' Dunalia'' is named after him, as is the green algae genus ''

Dunaliella ''Dunaliella'' is a single-celled, photosynthetic Green algae, green alga, that is characteristic for its ability to outcompete other organisms and thrive in Hypersaline lake, hypersaline environments. It is mostly a marine organism, though there ...

''. He is especially known for his work with the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solana ...

'', and published an important work on the genus; ''Solanorum generumque affinium Synopsis seu Solanorum Historiae, editionis secundae summarium ad characteres differentiales redactum, seriem naturalem, habitationes stationesque specierum breviter indicans'',

, 1816. For the work ''Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis'' by

Augustin de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss people, Swiss botany, botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple ...

and his son,

Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (27 October 18064 April 1893) was a French-Swiss botanist, the son of the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. Biography De Candolle, son of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, first devot ...

, he contributed to Volume I of 1824 "Cistineae" (modern

Cistaceae The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in eight genera that are ...

), to Volume VII, No. 2 of 1839 "Vaccinieae", and to Volume XIII No. 1 of 1852 "Solanaceae". Its publication in 1852 was the last taxonomic treatment of the genus ''Solanum'' in its entirety. This also includes a first attempt to divide the species of ''Solanum'' into sections. Starting points were morphological features such as the shape of the

anther The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s and the presence or absence of spines.

Honours

The genus name of '' Dunalia'' (5 species of plant found in South America) is in honour of Dunal, the genus was published in F.W.H.von Humboldt, A.J.A.Bonpland & C.S.Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. Vol.3 on page 55 in 1818.

Complete Bibliography

on WorldCat

References

1789 births 1856 deaths French phycologists French pteridologists Academic staff of the University of Montpellier Botanists with author abbreviations 19th-century French botanists {{France-botanist-stub