Pierre Nicolas Le Chéron d'Incarville (21 August 1706 – 12 June 1757) was a French

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

and amateur

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 ...

. He was a missionary to China and was the first person to introduce several important plants to the West. During his stay, he was also actively involved in publishing scholarly material on China. 18th century English illustration of Chinese fireworks

18th century English illustration of Chinese fireworks

Life

D'Incarville was born in

Louviers Louviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In the ...

(although some sources cite

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

). He entered the Jesuit order in 1727 and taught in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

between 1730 and 1739 before being sent on a mission to China in 1740. He was tasked with converting the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

of China, but the emperor showed little interest and denied d'Incarville access to the imperial gardens. However, when the emperor was shown some sensitive plants (''

Mimosa pudica ''Mimosa pudica'' (from la, pudica "shy, bashful or shrinking"; also called sensitive plant, sleepy plant, action plant, touch-me-not, shameplant) is a creeping annual or perennial flowering plant of the pea/legume family Fabaceae. It is often g ...

'') that d'Incarville had grown, he was so amused that he allowed the Jesuit into the gardens. D'Incarville was on excellent terms with the emperor and he continued to introduce many other European plants to him during his time in China. D'Incarville described and sent back seeds of several plants then unknown in Europe as a correspondent of the Jardin des Plantes. He was not a professional botanist, but was nonetheless well educated in the field and was made a correspondent of

Claude Joseph Geoffroy Claude Joseph Geoffroy (8 August 1685, Paris – 9 March 1752, Paris) was the brother of Étienne François Geoffroy. Like his brother, he was an apothecary and chemist. Having a considerable knowledge of botany, he devoted himself especially t ...

at the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...

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 ...

after refusing to become a foreign associate of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. Plants he introduced to the Western world include the tree of heaven (''

Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, varnish tree, or in Chinese as ''chouchun'' (), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other membe ...

''), the

pagoda tree ''Styphnolobium japonicum'', the Japanese pagoda tree (also known as the Chinese scholar tree and pagoda tree; syn. ''Sophora japonica'') is a species of tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It was formerly included withi ...

(''Styphnolobium japonicum''), ''

Koelreuteria paniculata ''Koelreuteria paniculata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to eastern Asia (China and Korea). It was introduced in Europe in 1747, and to America in 1763, and has become a popular landscape tree worldwide. Com ...

'' and ''

Toona sinensis ''Toona sinensis'', commonly called Chinese mahogany, Chinese cedar, Chinese toon, beef and onion plant, or red toon (; hi, डारलू, d̩āralū; ms, suren; vi, hương xuân) is a species of ''Toona'' native to eastern and southeast ...

''. He was also the first European to describe the

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' ...

. In addition to his correspondence work, he wrote several works that were published in Europe. These covered topics such as the

ailanthus silkmoth ''Samia cynthia'', the ailanthus silkmoth, is a saturniid moth, used to produce silk fabric but not as domesticated as the silkworm, ''Bombyx mori''. The moth has very large wings of , with a quarter-moon shaped spot on both the upper and lower ...

, Chinese

varnishing Varnish is a clear transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not a stain. It usually has a yellowish shade from the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmented as desired, and is sold commercially in various ...

and fireworks, as well as a French-Chinese dictionary. He also published a copy of a 16th-century botanical illustration work (the ''Yuzhi bencao pinhui jingyao''). D'Incarville died in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in June 1757.

Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( , ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794),
CNRS (

bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpetvines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: ...

genus ''

Incarvillea ''Incarvillea'' is a genus of about 16 species''Incarvillea''.
Flora of China. ...

'' after him.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Incarville, Pierre Nicolas le Cheron d 1706 births 1757 deaths French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in China People from Louviers 18th-century French botanists 18th-century French Jesuits Missionary botanists