Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) 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 ...

Biography

Gaudichaud was born in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

informally at

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

and Angoulême, and then under Robiquet in Paris, where he acquired a knowledge of botany from Desfontaines and Louis Richard. In April 1810, he was appointed

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

in the military marine, and from July 1811 to the end of 1814, he served in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. He also studied

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and herbology. His greatest claim to fame was serving as botanist on a circumglobal expedition from 1817 to 1820. He accompanied Freycinet, who made the expedition on the ships ''Uranie'' and ''Physicienne''. The wreck of the ''Uranie'' in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, at the close of 1819, deprived him of more than half the botanical collections he had made in various parts of the world. He is also known for his collections in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In 1831, Gaudichaud sailed on ''L'Herminie'' to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, visiting

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. In 1836, he undertook a third voyage, circumnavigating the globe on ''La Bonite''. He died 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 ...

Legacy

Gaudichaud is commemorated in the scientific names of two

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of South American lizards, '' Ecpleopus gaudichaudii'' and ''Garthia gaudichaudii'' (the Chilean marked gecko), and one species of Brazilian frog, '' Crossodactylus gaudichaudii''. Two Hawaiian species of flowering plants, in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Scaevola'' are named after him, '' Scaevola gaudichaudiana'' and '' Scaevola gaudichaudii''. Also, a genus of South American plants in the family Malpighiaceae, '' Gaudichaudia'', is named after Gaudichaud. He wrote various treatises, with memoirs on potato blight, the multiplication of bulbous plants, the increase in diameter of

dicotyledon The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

ous plants, and other subjects.

Principal works

*''Flore des îles Malouines'' (''Flora of the Falkland Islands'') *''Mémoire sur les Cycadées'' (''Treatise on the Cycads'') *''Voyage de l'Uranie'' (''Voyage of the Uranus'') *''Lettre sur l'organographie et la physiologie'', addressed to Monsieur de Mirbel, in ''Archives de Botanique'', T. II, 1833 (''Letter on Oceanography and Physiology'') *''Recherches générales sur l'organographie'' (''General Research on Oceanography'') *''Mémoire sur le Cissus hydrophora'' (''Treatise on Cissus hydrophora'') *''Voyage Autour du Monde Executé pendant les années 1836 et 1837 sur la corvette La Bonite'' (''Voyage of the Bonita'') and illustrated plates *''Notes relatives à l'organographie et à la physiologie des végétaux monocotylés''

References

External links

Voyage de l'Uranie, Botanique
At
Biodiversity Heritage Library

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré , Botanical Cabinet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudichaud-Beaupre, Charles 1789 births 1854 deaths Members of the French Academy of Sciences Botanists active in Australia French phycologists French bryologists French pteridologists Botanists with author abbreviations 19th-century French botanists French mycologists