Francisco Noronha

Francisco Noroña (* 1748, † January 12, 1788 in Mauritius ) was a Spanish botanist and physician. Noroña traveled Java and the Philippines. Its official botanical author abbreviation is " Noronha ".

Life and work

Noroña lived for a time in Manila in the Philippines where he intensively at the local botanical gardens ( " Royal Botanic Garden" ) care. 1786, he undertook a botanical expedition to the island of Java. Due to a license issued by Governor General Alting approval he could travel to the Java Priangan region. Here, he was accompanied by four Indonesian " Medicos - Herboristas " as well as a Dutch artist. The trip was canceled after disagreements between Noroña and the applicant. When he returned to Batavia ( now Jakarta ), he sent a bill for the amount of 14,200 ducats to the Batavian Society for Arts and Sciences, which among other things, his travel expenses should be paid. The amount, however, the company appeared to be high. Thereupon Noroña decided to leave Java. He took his records and made an alphabetical list of plants back. In February 1787 he departed; the ship brought him to Mauritius. He fell ill with malaria and dysentery. On January 12, 1788, he died in Mauritius.

Honors

The plant genus Noronhia Stadm. has been named after him. On the grounds of the garden in Manila a monument to him was erected, which, however, in recent times could not be rediscovered.