Jean-Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour

Jean -Baptiste Louis Claude Theodore Leschenault de la Tour ( born November 13, 1773 in Chalon -sur -Saône, † March 14, 1826 in Paris) was a French botanist and ornithologist. He led expeditions through in Australia, India and South America. His botanical author abbreviation is " Lesch. ".

Australia and Java

Jean -Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour was the chief botanist on the Baudin expedition of Nicolas Baudin in Australia 1800-1803. During the years 1801 and 1802, he collected a large number of species, in April 1803, he was, however, so ill that he had to be left on Timor. Thus he was forced to spend the next three years on Java and undertook the first botanical investigation on this island, even before that of the natural scientist Carl Peter Thunberg. He reached France with a large collection of plants and birds again until in July, 1807.

The birds that took Leschenault on Java, were described by Georges Cuvier and Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot, outlined their appearance Coenraad Jacob Temminck of. His collection of plants, which he brought to France, guaranteed him a pension by the French government.

India

In May 1816 Leschenault traveled to India to collect plants and to found a botanical garden in Pondicherry. He was awarded by the British also permission to travel through Madras, Bengal and Ceylon. Leschenault sent numerous plants and seeds to France, which he collected on the French island of Réunion and rehabilitated. This collection included two different types of sugar cane and six species of cotton. When he returned to France in 1822, he was awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest award of the country.

South America

Less than a year after his arrival in France, he embarked for America, where he traveled to Brazil, Dutch Guiana and French Guiana, and tea plants brought to Cayenne, the capital of the French colony. After only 18 months, he was forced to return due to its health home.

Naming

Numerous birds were named after Leschenault, including the Great Sand Plover ( Charadrius leschenaultii ), the white crown scissors tail ( Enicurus leschenaulti ) and the Sirkihkuckuck ( Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii ).

In addition, the plant genus Lechenaultia is named after him.