Nationality French Role Botanist | Name Jules Planchon Occupation botanist | |
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Born 21 March 1823 Ganges, Herault Known for saving vines from disease Died April 1, 1888, Montpellier, France | ||
Education University of Montpellier | ||
Jules Émile Planchon (21 March 1823 – 1 April 1888) was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault.
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Biography
After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the University of Montpellier in 1844, he worked for a while at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London, and for a few years was a teacher in Nancy and Ghent. In 1853 he became head of the department of botanical sciences at Montpellier University, where he remained for the remainder of his career.
Planchon was highly regarded in scientific circles, and made a number of contributions in his classification of botanical species and varieties. He is credited with naming Actinidia chinensis, better known as the "golden kiwifruit".
Planchon is remembered for his work in saving French grape vineyards from Phylloxera vastatrix, a microscopic, yellow aphid-like pest that was an exotic species from the United States. He performed this task with assistance from French botanist Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet and American entomologist Charles Valentine Riley. The solution involved introduction of American grapevines {Vitis riparia and Vitis rupestris} to France for grafting purposes.