Oriol de Bolòs i Capdevila (born 16 March 1924 in
Olot
Olot () is the capital city of the ''comarca'' of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The city is known for its natural landscape, including four volcanoes scattered around the city center. The municipality is part of the Zon ...
; died 22 March 2007 in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
) was a Spanish
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 ...
,
pteridologist #REDIRECTFern
01
Ferns
Pteridologist #REDIRECTFern
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 ...
, and
phytosociologist. He was a specialist in the flora of
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and also of the Mediterranean regions, the North Atlantic islands of (
Macaronesia
Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...
) and also
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Background
Bolòs came from a family of pharmacists and botanists. Having completed his doctorate in biological sciences, at the
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...
, from 1953 he became professor at the
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
and from 1965 to 1984 was the director of the Botanical Institute of Barcelona. Joining the Biological Sciences section of the
Institute of Catalan Studies
The Institute for Catalan Studies ( ca, Institut d'Estudis Catalans, ), also known by the acronym IEC, is an academic institution which seeks to undertake research and study into "all elements of Catalan culture". It is based in Barcelona, Catalon ...
in 1964, Bolòs would chair the section between 1989 and 1992.
Influenced by
Pius Font i Quer
Pius Font i Quer (Lleida 1888 – Barcelona 1964) was a Catalan botanist, pharmacist and chemist.
He organized the Institut Botànic de Barcelona and founded Jardí Botànic in this city. In 1911 he joined the Health Military Corporation, ...
and by the founder of the
phytosociology
Phytosociology, also known as phytocoenology or simply plant sociology, is the study of groups of species of plant that are usually found together. Phytosociology aims to empirically describe the vegetative environment of a given territory. A speci ...
Josias Braun-Blanquet
Josias Braun-Blanquet (3 August 1884 – 20 September 1980) was an influential phytosociologist and botanist. Braun-Blanquet was born in Chur, Switzerland and died in Montpellier, France. Biography
Work
In Josias Braun-Blanquet's dissertation, s ...
, Bolòs would publish ''Les groupements végétaux moyen du bassin de l'Ebre et leur dynamisme'' with Braun-Blanquet in (1958). As a flora writer his main work was the ''Flora dels Països Catalans'' (Flora of Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands) (1984-2001), which was an effort to track comprehensively all that was known to then, the publishing was edited jointly with Josep Vigo Bonada. Published work by Bolòs include more than 200 titles of books, articles and contributions to other works.
Noted Works
As a good disciple of Font i Quer he paid great attention to questions of botanical nomenclature. Bolòs was also active throughout his life in the defense of the protection of the environment and the interests of future generations.
He was the author or co-author of the formal names of a number of phytosociological communities, together with those which appear with the official abbreviation ''O.Bolòs''.
Authors of syntaxon names
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Some publications
Books
* 1950. ''La cartografía de la vegetación en los Pirineos''. Volumen 27 de Monografías del Instituto de Estudios Pirenaicos. 17 pp.
* 1958. Oriol de Bolòs i Capdevila, René Molinier
''Recherches phytosociologiques dans l'île de Majorque''
Collectanea Botanica. Vol. 5, Nº 34, Fasc. 3, pp. 699-865 (167 pp.). Ed. Instituto Botánico de Barcelona.
* 1967. ''Comunidades vegetales de las comarcas proximas al litoral situadas entre los rios Llobregat y Segura''. Volumen 3; Volumen 31; Volumen 38 de Memorias de la Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona. Ed. Ariel. 280 pp.
* 1970
''Observations phytosociologiques dans l'île de Minorque''
Volumen 5 de Acta geobotanica Barcinonensia, con René Molinier y Pedro Montserrat Recoder. 150 pp.
* 1987
''Las comunidades vegetales de la depresión del Ebro y su dinamismo''
con J. Braun-Blanquet. 278 pp. Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza.
* 1984. Oriol de Bolòs, Josep Vigo. ''Flora dels Països Catalans''. Four volumes. Ed. Barcino.
Honours
He was a Member of the Catalan Institute of Natural History, of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona and the International Phytosociological Commission.
He received honours from the Government of Catalonia
The Executive Council of Catalonia ( ca, Consell Executiu) or the Executive Government of Catalonia (Catalan: ) is the Executive (government), executive branch of the Generalitat of Catalonia. It is responsible for the political action, regul ...
, such as the Narcís Monturiol medal for services to science and technology, and the Creu de Sant Jordi, the highest honour that can be granted by the Catalan government.
References
*Necrològica: Oriol de Bolòs i Capdevila (1924-2007). Collectanea Botanica (Barcelona) vol. 27 (2008): 117-118 (in Catalan)
External links
In memoriam Oriol de Bolòs, by Luis Villar and Pedro Montserrat, Le Monde des Plantes 2007
(in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolos, Oriol de
1924 births
2007 deaths
20th-century Spanish botanists
Pteridologists
Phytogeographers
Complutense University of Madrid alumni
Academic staff of the University of Barcelona