Charles-François Brisseau de Mirbel (27 March 1776 – 12 September 1854) 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 politician. He was a founder of the science of plant

cytology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

. A native Parisian, at the age of twenty, he became an assistant-naturalist with the French

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 ...

. While there he began to examine plant tissue under a microscope. In 1802, Mirbel published his treatise ''Traité d'anatomie et de physiologie végétale'' which established his position as a founder of

, plant

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

and

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...

in France. He proposed that all plant tissue is modified from

parenchyma Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ or structure such as a tumour. In zoology it is the name for the tissue that fills the interior of flatworms. Etymology The term ''parenchyma'' is New Latin from the word π ...

(supporting tissue). His observation, in 1809, that each plant cell is contained in a continuous membrane, remains a central contribution to cytology. In 1803, Mirbel obtained the post of superintendent of the gardens of Napoleon's

Château de Malmaison The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileri ...

. There he studied and published on structure of plant tissue and the development of plant organs. He also studied and described the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Marchantia ''Marchantia'' is a genus of liverworts in the family Marchantiaceae and the order Marchantiales. The thallus of ''Marchantia'' shows differentiation into two layers: an upper photosynthetic layer with a well-defined upper epidermis with por ...

'' of

liverwort The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

s. His 1802 treatise and these publications enabled him, in 1808, to join 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 ...

and to become the chair of the botany department of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. His combined tissue studies were published in 1815 as ''Eléments de physiologie végétale et de botanique''. With the Bourbon Restoration, Mirbel's friend

Élie, duc Decazes Élie, 1st Duke of Decazes and Glücksbierg (born Élie Louis Decazes; 28 September 178024 October 1860) was a French statesman, leader of the liberal ''Doctrinaires'' party during the Bourbon Restoration. Early life and family Élie Decazes ...

, then Minister of Interior, offered him the post of Secretary General. But the fall of the government in 1829, marked the end of Mirbel's political career, and he returned to a position with the National Museum of Natural History as head of the '' Jardin des Plantes'' in Paris, and eventually became the Director of Culture (chaire de culture) for the museum. Mirbel was elected a foreign member of the British

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

of London in 1837. In 1823 Mirbel married Lizinska Aimée Zoé Rue, a French painter of miniatures. He died in Champerret, France in 1854. The plant

Mirbelia ''Mirbelia'' is a plant genus belonging to the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia, occurring in every mainland state except South Australia. Plants in the genus ''Mirbelia'' are prickly, perennial shrubs with simple, sometimes sharply- ...

'' and the

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

Dendrobium mirbelianum ''Dendrobium mirbelianum'', commonly known as the dark-stemmed antler orchid or mangrove orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has cylindrical, dark-coloured pseudobulbs with leathery, dark green leaves and ...

'' are named in his honor.

Selected works

* * ''Traité d'anatomie et de physiologie végétale'', 1802 * ''Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière de plantes'', 1802–1806 * ''Exposition de la théorie de l'organisation végétale'', 1809 * ''Éléments de physiologie végétale et de botanique'', 1815

References

* Gillispie, Charles Coulston (ed.) (1970) "Mirbel, Charles Francois Brisseau De (1776–1854)" ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography: Volumes I-XIV'' Charles Scribner's Sons, New York; ::''This article is based in part on material from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brisseau de Mirbel Botanists with author abbreviations 19th-century French botanists University of Paris faculty Members of the French Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Royal Society 1776 births 1854 deaths