Émile Bescherelle (3 January 1828,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 26 February 1903) was a French

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and bryologist. Bescherelle is known for his analysis of bryological species from diverse locations that included the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...

, the

Mascarene Islands The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, et al. With Ernest Roze he edited the

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

''Muscinées des environs de Paris'' (1861-1866). In 1882 with phycologist

Paul Auguste Hariot Paul Auguste Hariot (1854 – 5 July 1917), the son of Louis Hariot (also a pharmacist), was a French pharmacist and noted phycologist, best known for his 1900 publicatio''Atlas Colorié des Plantes Médicinales Indigènes'' Hariot took up the p ...

(1854–1917), he took part in a scientific expedition to

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

. The genus ''Bescherellia'' is named in his honour by

Jean Étienne Duby Jean Étienne Duby (15 February 1798 in Geneva – 24 November 1885) was a Swiss clergyman and botanist. He studied theology in Geneva, obtaining his consecration in 1820, and having an avid interest in natural history, he earned his degree in ...

(1798-1885).

Written works

* ''Prodromus bryologiae mexicanae : ou, énumeration des mousses du Mexique, avec description des espéces nouvelles'', 1872 - Enumeration of

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with description of new species. * ''Florule bryologique de la Nouvelle-Calédonie'', 1873 - Bryological flora of

. * ''Florule bryologique des Antilles françaises'', 1876 - Bryological flora of the

French Antilles The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two Overseas department and region of France, overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Bass ...

. * ''Florule bryologique des Antilles françaises ou énumération et description des mousses nouvelles recueillies à la Guadeloupe et à la Martinique'', 1876 - Bryological flora of the French West Indies, or enumeration and description of new moss species from

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. * ''Note sur les mousses du Paraguay : récoltées par M. Balansa de 1874 é 1877'' - Note on mosses of

, collected by Benedict Balansa (1825V1891) from 1874 to 1877. * ''Florule bryologique de la Réunion'' : de Maurice et des autres iles Austro-Africaines de l'océan Indien, 1880-81 - Bryological flora of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

and other islands of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. * ''Catalogue des mousses observées en Algerie'', 1882 - Catalog of mosses seen in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. * ''Mission scientifique du cap Horn, 1882–1883''. Tome V, Botanique with

(1854-1917) & others - Scientific mission to Cape Horn in 1882–1883. * ''Hépatiques nouvelles des colonies françaises'', 1888 - New

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

species from colonies of France. In addition, he was a collaborator towards

Narcisse Théophile Patouillard Narcisse Théophile Patouillard (2 July 1854 – 30 March 1926) was a French pharmacist and mycologist. He was born in Macornay, a town in the department of Jura (department), Jura. He studied in Besançon, then furthered his education at the ...

's publication of ''Catalogue raisonné des plantes cellulaires de la Tunisie''.IDREF.fr
(bibliography)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bescherelle, Emile French bryologists 19th-century French botanists 1903 deaths 1828 births Scientists from Paris