Michel Étienne Descourtilz (25 November 1775, Boiste near Pithiviers – 1835 or 1836,

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 ...

), was a French physician,

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 ...

and historian of the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...

. He was the father of illustrator Jean-Théodore Descourtilz, with whom he sometimes collaborated. Plate of a pineapple from Descourtiz, 1877

In 1799, after completing his medical studies he traveled to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

and Santiago, Cuba, arriving in Haiti on 2 April. Despite a passport from

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

and serving as physician with the forces of

Jean-Jacques Dessalines Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: ''Jan-Jak Desalin''; ; 20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent First Empire of Haiti, Haiti under the Constitution of Haiti, 1 ...

, he was in constant danger. His plant collections were mostly from between

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

and Cap-Haïtien and along the Artibonite River. All his natural history collections and many drawings were destroyed during the course of the revolution. In 1803 he returned to France, worked as a physician in a hospital at Beaumont and served as president of the Paris Linnean Society. As a taxonomist he circumscribed the genus ''Nauchea'' (family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

).Nauchea Descourt.
Tropicos

Bibliography

''Flore pittoresque et médicale des Antilles, ou, Histoire naturelle des plantes usuelles des colonies françaises, anglaises, espagnoles et portugaises; par M.E. Descourtilz. Peinte par J. Th. Descourtilz. Vols. 1-8''

''Voyages d'un naturaliste, et ses observations faites sur les trois règnes de la nature, dans plusieurs ports de mer français, en Espagne, au continent de l'Amérique Septentrionale, à Saint Yago de Cub. Vols.1-3''

Complete bibliography on WorldCat.
*Descourtilz, Michel Étienne, 2021. ''Flore médicale des Antilles''. New edition established by César Delnatte, ethnobotanist. (''Collection de la Fondation Clément''). Bordeaux, Hervé Chopin. 245 p. 100 tables reproduced.

Sources and references

Biography in French with bibliography from the Dictionnaire encyclopédique des sciences médicales.
* Urban, Ignaz. ''Notae biographicae'', Symb. Antill. 3:36,1900.

External links

Plants named by Descourtilz on IPNI
* 1775 births 1836 deaths 19th-century French botanists French mycologists Botanists with author abbreviations Botanists active in North America Botanists active in the Caribbean 19th-century French historians 19th-century French physicians French male non-fiction writers People of Saint-Domingue {{Mycologist-stub