René Paul Raymond Capuron (20 October 1921 – 24 August 1971) was a French

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 ...

. Capuron was responsible for an extensive amount of work on the tree

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Several tree

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

with the specific epithet of ''capuronii'' honor his name, examples being '' Podocarpus capuronii'' and '' Schizolaena capuronii''.

Works

Highlights of his work include: *''M. arillata'' — a new species of ''

Mauloutchia ''Mauloutchia'' is a genus of trees endemic to the lowland eastern and northern rain forests of Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: Rép ...

'', formed from the collection of ''

Myristicaceae The Myristicaceae are a family of flowering plants native to Africa, Asia, Pacific islands, and the Americas and has been recognized by most taxonomists. It is sometimes called the "nutmeg family", after its most famous member, ''Myristica fragra ...

'' specimens. *''Takhtajania perrieri'' — the only extant representative of the family ''

Winteraceae Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more s ...

''. Capuron was the first to rediscover the plant, following its last sighting by Henri Perrier de la Bathie, back in 1909.

Bibliography

*''Essai d'introduction à l'étude de la flore forestière de Madagascar'',

Tananarive Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...

, ''Inspection Générale des Eaux & Forêts'', 1957, 125 pp. *''Rhopalocarpacées''. In: ''Flore de Madagascar et des Comores'', vol. 127, Paris, 1963, 41 pp. *''Révision des Sapindacées de Madagascar et des Comores''. In: ''Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle'', t. 19, Paris, 1969, 189 pp.

Legacy

Capuron is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of chameleon, ''

Calumma capuroni ''Calumma capuroni'' is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. Etymology The specific name, ''capuroni'' is in honor of French botanist René Paul Raymond Capuron. Beolens, Bo; Wat ...

'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Madagascar. He is also honored in the names of several species of plant, also endemic to Madagascar. Such as ''

Aponogeton capuronii ''Aponogeton capuronii'' (named after René Paul Raymond Capuron) is an aquatic plant found in southeastern Madagascar. Description ''Aponogeton capuronii'' has a rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean ...

'', '' Bulbophyllum capuronii'', '' Dalbergia capuronii'', '' Euphorbia capuronii'', '' Millettia capuronii'', ''

Perrierodendron capuronii ''Perrierodendron capuronii'' is a tree in the family Sarcolaenaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The specific epithet is for the French botanist René Capuron. Description ''Perrierodendron capuronii'' grows as a tree up to tall. Its chart ...

'', '' Podocarpus capuronii'', '' Schizolaena capuronii'', '' Staufferia capuronii'', '' Stephanostegia capuronii'' and '' Tabernaemontana capuronii''.

References

1921 births 1971 deaths 20th-century French botanists 20th-century French scientists {{france-botanist-stub