Narcisse Théophile Patouillard (2 July 1854 – 30 March 1926) was a French

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 ...

and

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

. He was born in

Macornay Macornay () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Macornay is located 4 km south of the department capital Lons-le-Saunier. Tourist attractions include many outdoor activities such as biking a ...

, a town in the department of Jura. He studied in

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

, then furthered his education at the École Supérieure de Pharmacie 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 ...

, where in 1884 he earned a diploma with a doctoral thesis involving the structure and classification of

Hymenomycetes Hymenomycetes was formerly the largest taxonomic group of fungi within the division Basidiomycota, but the term is no longer taxonomically relevant. Many familiar fungi belong to this class, including bracket fungi and toadstools. This class c ...

called "''Des Hyménomycètes au point de vue de leur structure et de leur classification''". With Jacques Emile Doassans he issued 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 ...

''Champignons figurés et désechés'' (1880-1883). Patouillard was a practicing pharmacist for more than forty years, first in Poligny (1881–84), and later in

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the spring ...

(1884–85), Paris (1886–1898) and

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

(beginning in 1898). From 1893 to 1900, he was ''préparateur'' to the chair of cryptogamy at the École Supérieure de Pharmacie in Paris. In 1884 he was one of the founders of the

Société mycologique de France The Société mycologique de France (, Mycological Society of France), often known by the abbreviation SMF, is an association linking French and French-speaking mycologists. History The society was founded in 1884 in Épinal in the Vosges by ...

and served as its third president in 1891–92. In 1920 he became an honorary member of the

British Mycological Society The British Mycological Society is a learned society established in 1896 to promote the study of fungi. Formation The British Mycological Society (BMS) was formed by the combined efforts of two local societies: the Woolhope Naturalists' Fiel ...

. He died in

, aged 71. Patouillard is highly regarded for his taxonomical work in mycology, and during his career, he described numerous genera and species of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

. The following are some of the genera that he is the

taxonomic authority In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon), and these groups are given ...

of: ''

Guepiniopsis ''Guepiniopsis'' is a genus of fungi in the family Dacrymycetaceae. The genus contains about seven widely distributed species. ''Guepiniopsis'' was circumscribed by Narcisse Théophile Patouillard Narcisse Théophile Patouillard (2 July 1854 ...

'', ''

Hirsutella ''Hirsutella'' is a genus of asexually reproducing fungi in the Ophiocordycipitaceae family. Originally described by French mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard in 1892, this genus includes species that are pathogens of insects, mites and ne ...

'', '' Lacrymaria'', ''

Leucocoprinus ''Leucocoprinus'' is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Its best-known member is the distinctive yellow mushroom ''Leucocoprinus birnbaumii'', which is found in plant pots and greenhouses worldwide. The type species is ''Leucocoprinus ce ...

'', '' Melanoleuca'' and ''

Spongipellis ''Spongipellis'' is a genus of fungus in the family Polyporaceae. The genus is widely distributed and contains ten species. The genus was circumscribed by French mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard in 1887. The genus name combines the Lati ...

''. A mycological species called '' Inocybe patouillardii'' (brick-red tear mushroom) is one of the species named after him. He was the author of nearly 250 works, and was a leading authority on tropical mycology. Over 100 of his publications involved studies of fungi from diverse locales such as

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 ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, the

Gambier Islands The Gambier Islands ( or ) are an archipelago in French Polynesia, located at the southeast terminus of the Tuamotu archipelago. They cover an area of , and are made up of the Mangareva Islands, a group of high islands remnants of a caldera alo ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, et al.

Selected writings

* ''Tabulae analyticae Fungorum'' (Analytic tables of fungi), 1883–1889. * ''Les Hyménomycètes d'Europe. Anatomie générale et classification des champignons supérieurs'' (The Hymenomycetes of Europe. General anatomy and classification of the higher fungi) 166 pp. 1887. * ''Fragments mycologiques: Notes sur quelques champignons de la Martinique'' (Notes on certain mushrooms of

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 ...

) in Journal of Botany 3 pp. 335 - 343, 1889. * ''Essai taxonomique sur les familles et les genres des Hyménomycètes'' (Taxonomic essay on the families and genera of Hymenomycetes), 1900.

References

* "This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () 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 :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

."
Mushroom the Journal
(biographical data, list of publications & genera described.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Patouillard, Narcisse Theophile 1854 births 1926 deaths People from Jura (department) French mycologists French pharmacists

Selected writings

See also

References