Philippe Morat (born 19 January 1937, in
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
) is a researcher mainly in the field of tropical botany. He is a corresponding member of the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
.
Biography
Agricultural engineer from the
Ecole nationale supérieure agronomique de
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
, he was admitted to the
Institut de recherche pour le développement
The Institut de Recherche pour le Développement or IRD () is a French science and technology establishment under the joint supervision of the French Ministries of Higher Education and Research and Foreign Affairs. It operates internationally ...
(IRD) in 1960 in the tropical botany section where he remained until 1986, successively in charge, master then research director during his assignments in
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 ...
(12 years) and
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
(9 years
).
After obtaining a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
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** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
from the
University of Paris-Sud
Paris-Sud University (French: ''Université Paris-Sud''), also known as University of Paris — XI (or as Université d'Orsay before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, in ...
in 1972 on the origin of the
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s of south-western Madagascar,
[1973- ''Les savanes du Sud-Ouest de Madagascar''. Mémoires ORSTOM n° 68, 235 p.] he turned his attention to
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
[Etude systématique et familles : Poaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Arecaceae, Orchidaceae Asclepiadaceae, Malvaceae, Polygalaceae, Oncothecaceae, Trimeniaceae.] and
phytogeography
Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...
. Appointed Professor at the
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...
and Director of the Phanerogamy Laboratory in 1986, he is also in charge of the National Herbarium. Correspondent of the French Academy of Sciences in 1999, section of Integrative Biology.
Retired in 2006.
Scientific contributions
Highlighting of the