Vicente Cervantes

Vicente Cervantes Mendo (* 1758 in Ledrada, Salamanca Province; † July 28, 1829 in Mexico City) was a Spanish botanist. His botanical author abbreviation is " Cerv. ".

For a long time the town of Zafra, in Extremadura as the birthplace and 1755 as the year of birth of Vicente Cervantes, however, there was no evidence. A few years ago it was found in the church records of the town of San Miguel Arcángel in Ledrada a note on his birth. The mother of Vicente Cervantes came from Ledrada, his father worked there as a doctor. It is assumed that Cervantes grew up in Ledrada, his siblings were also baptized there.

Vicente Cervantes studied in Madrid. During his studies he completed internships in one of the Hofapotheken and the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid. After his degree in pharmacy, he worked as a pharmacist at Madrid Hospital General.

In 1785, a native of Aragon doctor Martín y Sessé Lacasta a scientific expedition to New Spain (Mexico) began ( 1751-1808 ) to prepare. You should explore the nature of the country, but also lend scientific teaching in this Viceroyalty of new ideas and bring the knowledge of physicians and pharmacists there on a date. In selecting the members of the expedition was Casimiro Gómez Ortega (1741-1818), professor of botany and director of the Real Jardin Botanico, a major role. In Mexico City, the first Chair of Botany in America should be established for the occupation they chose Vicente Cervantes.

Sessé ( Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain ) mentioned company has been appointed as the head of the official Real Expedición Botánica a la Nueva España. Other participants included the anatomist and surgeon José Martínez Longinus and the pharmacist Senseve Jaime and Juan del Castillo. Two young Mexican painter and graduate of the Academia de San Carlos, Vicente de la Cerda and Atanasio Echevarría, accompanied the expedition and helped with the documentation of the results. Starting from Mexico City campaigns were carried out, brought the dried plants, stuffed animals, illustrations, drawings and minerals. In Mexico City, they were examined and classified.

Cervantes traveled end of 1787 to Mexico, where he started together with Sessé simultaneously with the search for a suitable location for the planned botanical garden. After a short time for preparation Jardin Botanico de la Ciudad de México was inaugurated on 1 May 1788 Director of the garden was Sessé. The next day, Cervantes gave his inaugural lecture on the various classification systems in the history of botany and the benefits of the system of Linnaeus. Three days later he began to hold regular botany lectures. Some of his students were themselves later to important botanists, such as José Mariano mocino who joined the expedition in 1789.

The indigenous in Mexico scientists were the Royal Botanical Expedition against partly reserved as they brought new and reformist ideas into the country. You should make known among other things, developed by Carl Linnaeus binary nomenclature in Mexico. This led to a heated argument between Cervantes and José Alzate (1737-1799), a Mexican botanist who resisted the introduction of the binary nomenclature. Cervantes was trying to spread new ideas in which he translated, for example, Lavoisier's " Traité de chimie élémentaire " into Spanish. The rivalry between Alzate and Cervantes was settled in 1790, after a fruitful collaboration developed.

Vicente Cervantes remained even after the return of the other members of the expedition in 1803 as Professor and Director of the Botanical Garden in Mexico. In addition to his teaching, he was engaged in research. He was also from 1791 to 1809 with the management of the pharmacy of the Hospital General de San Andrés in charge, and he later opened his own pharmacy in the Calle del Relox. He sat down without success to ensure that in New Spain pharmacy should be taught in universities.

In addition to approximately 300 first descriptions of newly discovered plants Cervantes published 15 major works. Of these, particular the " Ensayo Materia Medica a la Vegetal de México " and highlight his contributions to " Plantae novae Hispaniae " and "Flora Mexicana ", summarizing the results of the expedition.

After proclaimed by Agustín de Iturbide on September 28, 1821 Mexico's independence many Spaniards, who refused to recognize this independence were expelled by decree. On Vicente Cervantes, this decree was not applied in recognition of his scientific work. He remained until his death in 1829 in Mexico.

By Ruiz and Pavón the genus Cervantesia from the family of Sandelholzgewächse was named after Vicente Cervantes.

  • Author entry and list the name of the plant described for Vicente Cervantes at IPNI

Single Documents

  • Botanist (18th century)
  • Botanist (19th Century )
  • Name to a genus
  • Spaniard
  • Born in 1758
  • Died in 1829
  • Man
Province of Salamanca Academy of San Carlos International Plant Names Index
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