Louis René Étienne Tulasne, a.k.a. Edmond Tulasne (12 September 1815 – 22 December 1885) 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 ...

and

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as ...

born in Azay-le-Rideau. He originally studied law at

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglome ...

, but his interest later turned to botany. As a young man he assisted botanist

Auguste de Saint-Hilaire Augustin François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire (4 October 17793 September 1853) was French botany, botanist and traveller who was born and died in Orléans, France. A keen observer, he is credited with important discoveries in botany, nota ...

(1779–1853) with studies of Brazilian flora. From 1842 until 1872 he worked as a naturalist at the

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

in Paris. In 1854 he succeeded Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (1797–1853) as a member of 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 ...

. He died in

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...

on 22 December 1885, age 70. Tulasne's specialized study was the science of

mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogen ...

. His microscopic investigation of fungi, particularly parasitic species, contributed much to the understanding on the complexities of their nature and development. He is credited with introducing the concept of " pleomorphy" in regard to fungi.Biography and Photo; Louis René Tulasne
Mushroom the Journal Pleomorphy states that an individual fungus, growing in different substrates can have dramatically different forms. In 1853 he introduced his views on the reproduction cycle of '' Claviceps purpurea'' (ergot). Around this time he also developed an interest in

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fruiting body The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cy ...

found in many species of fungi. A number of mycological species, as well as the genera ''Tulasneinia'' and '' Tulasnella'' (family Tulasnellaceae) are named after him. He is credited with providing classification

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 ...

for the following genera: '' Crucibulum'', '' Glomus'', '' Sebacina'', ''

Terfezia ''Terfezia'' (Berber: Tirfas) is a genus of truffle-like fungi within the Pezizaceae family. ''Terfezia'' species are commonly known as desert truffles. Some authorities consider this the type genus of the family Terfeziaceae, although phylog ...

'', '' Tilletia'' and '' Hypomyces'' (the latter genus with

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö ( Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquire ...

). He also produced some important works on

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s. For example, in 1855, he published two papers on the

magnoliid Magnoliids (or Magnoliidae or Magnolianae) are a clade of flowering plants. With more than 10,000 species, including magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, tulip tree and many others, it is the third-largest group of a ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Monimiaceae,Lisa DeCesare. 2006. "Tulasne Brothers Exhibit" ''Newsletter of the friends of the Farlow'' 47(spring 2006):6–7. Harvard University Herbarium. (See External Links below). in which he included what are now the Lauralean families Siparunaceae and

Atherospermataceae The Atherospermataceae, commonly known as the southern sassafrases, are a family of broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs. The family includes 14 species in seven genera. The atherosperms are today mostly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere, wi ...

.Louis-René Tulasne. 1855. "Diagnoses nonnullas e Monimiacearum recensione tentata excerptas præmittit". ''Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, series 4, 3:29–144. (See External links below).Louis-René Tulasne (Ludovicus-Renatus Tulasne). 1855. "Monographia Monimiacearum, primum tentata". ''Archives du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle'' (Paris) 8:273–436.(See External links below). Tulasne published over 50 scientific articles during his career. Some of his best work was done in collaboration with his brother,

Charles Tulasne Charles Tulasne (5 September 1816 – 28 August 1884) was a French physician, mycologist and illustrator born in Langeais in the département of Indre-et-Loire. He received his medical doctorate in 1840 and practiced medicine in Paris until 18 ...

(1816–1884), such as "''Fungi hypogaei''" (1851) and the three-volume "''Selecta fungorum carpologia''" (1861–65). The latter work is known for its superb detailed illustrations, being created by Charles Tulasne. Many of his works were published under the Latinized name "Ludovicus-Renatus".

References

External links

''Newsletter of the friends of the Farlow'', Number 47CollectionsHarvard University Herbaria

page 383, Table des articlesView Book (external)Annales des sciences naturelles ... Quatrième série. Botanique. Tome IIITitlesBiodiversity Heritage Library

page 273View BookArchives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Tome 8TitlesBiodiversity Heritage Library

IPNI
List of plants described and co-described by Tulasne. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tulasne, Edmond 1815 births 1885 deaths 19th-century French botanists French mycologists French Roman Catholics Members of the French Academy of Sciences People from Indre-et-Loire