Antonio José Cavanilles (16 January 1745 – 5 May 1804) was a leading Spanish taxonomic

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 ...

, artist and one of the most important figures in the 18th century period of Enlightenment in Spain. Cavanilles is most famous for his 2-volume book on Spanish flora, published in 1795 and titled ‘Observations on the Natural History, Geography and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Valencia’.He named many plants, particularly from

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. He named at least 100 genera, about 54 of which were still used in 2004, including ''

Dahlia ''Dahlia'' ( , ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. Dahlias are members of the Asteraceae (synonym name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its relatives include the sun ...

'', '' Calycera'', '' Cobaea'', '' Galphimia'', and '' Oleandra''.

Biography

Cavanilles was born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. He lived in

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 ...

from 1777 to 1781, where he followed careers as a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and a botanist, thanks to

André Thouin André Thouin (10 February 1747 – 24 October 1824) was a French botanist. Thouin studied botany under Bernard de Jussieu, and in 1793 attained the chair of horticulture at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. He was a good ...

and

Antoine Laurent de Jussieu Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (; 12 April 1748 – 17 September 1836) was a French botanist, notable as the first to publish a natural classification of flowering plants; much of his system remains in use today. His classification was based on an e ...

. He was one of the first Spanish scientists to use the classification method invented by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

Early life and education

Antonio José Cavanilles was born on January 16, 1745, in Valencia, Spain. In his youth Cavanilles specialized in the study of mathematics and physics and obtained a doctorate in theology. Because he failed to secure the professorship to which he aspired, he accepted the post of guardian to the sons of the duke of Infantado and accompanied the duke to Paris in 1777. Returning to Spain in 1789 he became fascinated with botany and took courses given by the renowned naturalists A. Laurent de Jussieu and Lamarck. He studied at the

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

, where he developed an interest in botany and natural history. He published, in 1785, the first of ten monographs that constitute his ''Monadelphiae''.

Botanical career

His return to Spain in 1789 marked the beginning of a rivalry with the director of the Madrid Botanical Gardens, Casimiro Gómez Ortega, and the botanist Hipólito Ruiz. In 1791 he was ordered to travel throughout the peninsula to study its botanical wealth; and, starting in 1799, he collaborated on the newly created ''Anales de histoaria natural''. Cavanilles became a professor of botany at the University of Valencia and later joined the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, where he worked under the supervision of Casimiro Gómez Ortega. He succeeded Gómez Ortega as director of the botanical garden from 1801 to 1804. The Spanish government ordered that any expeditions exploring Spanish America at that time send the Botanical Gardens examples of any herbs, seeds, and other plant forms that might be collected. In 1804, Cavanilles was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Botanical Expeditions Cavanilles led several botanical expeditions throughout Spain, collecting and cataloging numerous plant specimens. His explorations contributed significantly to the understanding of Spain's flora.

Artist and illustrator

Cavanilles llustrated his own ''Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum'' (1791-1801).

Medical research

During his official research into Spanish flora (starting his journey in Valencia) that Cavanilles made significant contributions to the field of medicine. Cavanilles identified the components of a popular Valencian remedy against rabies, after first checking its validity with the medical community. The positive results of this peer review gave rise to at least ten published articles in the ‘Annals of Natural Science’. One more notable medical achievement was his identification of the rise in fatal diseases in regions which cultivated rice, due to the diversion of the water supply to the detriment of other areas which could more efficiently make use of this water for more important crops. This resulted in local laws passed in Almenara (province of Castellón) to reduce the negative effects of rice paddies on the water supply and caused an immediate reduction in the local rate of fatal diseases.

Australia

The research carried out by Cavanilles documented over 600 species of plants from the Valencian region, as well as exotic species from expeditions made to Peru, Chile, the Philippines and Oceania. Cavanilles described a number of Australian plants, including the genera ''Angophora'' and ''Bursaria'', in his 6-volume ''Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum...'' (1791–1799). The Australian descriptions were based on collections made near Port Jackson and Botany Bay (New South Wales) by Luis Née (q.v.). Other Australian taxa were described in papers in ''Anal. Hist. Nat.'' 1: 89–107 (1799) & 3: 181–245 (1800). Banksia-ericaefolia-cavanilles-1800

Taxonomic Work Cavanilles is best known for his taxonomic work, particularly his contributions to the classification and description of plant species. He authored several botanical publications, including "Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum" in which 712 plants were listed according to the Linnaean classification and which gives data on some American plants and "Monadelphiae Classis Dissertationes Decem." Mentorship Cavanilles mentored several notable botanists, including Simón de Roxas Clemente y Rubio, Mariano Lagasca (1776– 1839) and

José Celestino Mutis José Celestino Bruno Mutis y Bosio (6 April 1732 – 11 September 1808) was a Spanish people, Spanish priest, botanist and mathematician. He was a significant figure in the Spanish American Enlightenment, whom Alexander von Humboldt met with ...

, who went on to make significant contributions to the field of botany in their own right.

Legacy

Cavanilles' work laid the foundation for modern botanical studies in Spain and had a lasting impact on the field of botany worldwide. His herbarium specimens and publications remain valuable resources for botanical research. He died in Madrid in 1804.

Selected publications

* ''Icones et descriptiones plantarum, quae aut sponte in Hispania crescunt, aut in hortis hospitantur...'', Madrid, 1791-180

* Monadelphiae Classis Dissertationes Decem. (Paris, 1785; Madrid, 1790). * ''Observaciones sobre la historia natural, geografia, agricultura, población y frutos del reyno de Valencia'', 2 vols. (Madrid, 1795–1797; new Zaragoza edition, 1958), a work in which he attempts to fix the natural wealth of the region studied. * ''Descripción de las plantas que Don A. J. Cavanilles demostró en las lecciones púhlicas del año 1801'' (Madrid, 1803. 1804). * Ant. Iosephi Cavanilles Icones et descriptiones plantarum, quæ aut sponte in Hispania crescunt aut in hortis hospitantur. Madrid : Madrid Royal Printing, 1791.

References

External links

Biography
by the

Australian National Botanic Gardens The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...

Malpighiaceae/Cavanilles

''Monadelphiæ classis dissertationes decem'' on the Internet Archive

Scans of 160 plates from ''Monadelphiæ classis dissertationes decem''
Antonio José Cavanilles. Polymath Virtual Library, Fundación Ignacio Larramendi

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. "Antonio José Cavanilles (1745–1804)

Cavanilles, Antonio José. Encyclopedia.com.

Cavanilles and the Flora of the Kingdom of Valencia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanilles, Antonio Jose 1745 births 1804 deaths Scientists from Valencia 18th-century Spanish botanists 18th-century Spanish illustrators Pteridologists Catholic clergy scientists Spanish botanical illustrators International members of the American Philosophical Society