Pierre André Pourret (1754–1818) was a French
abbot and
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 ...
who did research and teaching in
France and
Spain. He described and collected large amounts of plant species, especially from the Mediterranean, and amassed many species in his
botanical garden and
herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...
for his research. Pourret was also a pioneer user of
binomial nomenclature, first developed by
Carl Linnaeus.
Career
Pierre André Pourret was a clergyman, but started his botanical career earlier, working in the regions around his hometown,
Narbonne. His given parish, however, was Saint-Jacob in
Provence. He sent manuscripts of documented research to the ''Académie des sciences, inscriptions et belles-lettres de Toulouse''.
During the
French Revolution in 1789, Pourret was exiled to Spain. He did botanical work in Barcelona, Madrid, and ultimately the city of
Ourense
Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...
in
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
. Due to xenophobia to the French during
Napoleon's
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
invasion of Spain, an angry mob drove Pourret out of his herbarium, burning many of his resources in the process. He lived an obscure life in
Santiago de Compostela until his death in 1818.
Legacy
His botanical collection can be found in the School of Pharmacy at the
Complutense University of Madrid, donated by the
University of Santiago de Compostela.
Herbario Facultad de Farmacia of Complutense University of Madrid (Spanish)
Publications
* Pourret, P.A.(1781), ''Itineraire pour les Pyrénées''
* Pourret, P.A.(1783), ''Projet d'une histoire générale de la famille des Cistes''
* Pourret, P.A.(1784), ''Chloris Narbonensis''
* Pourret, P.A
''Memoire sur divers volcans ėteints de la Catalogne''
Palassou, Pierre Bernard (1823), ''Nouveaux mémoires pour servir à l'histoire naturelle des Pyrénées et des pays adjacents'', Pau: Vignancour.
See also
* Lapeirousia
* List of botanists by author abbreviation
* Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pourret, Pierre Andre
Botanists with author abbreviations
1754 births
1818 deaths
18th-century French botanists
19th-century French botanists