Died 1916, Caen, France | ||
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Élie Antoine Octave Lignier (25 February 1855 in Pougy – 19 March 1916 in Caen) was a French botanist, known for his work in the field of paleobotany.
From 1880 to 1887 he worked as assistant to Charles Eugène Bertrand at the University of Lille. He obtained his doctorate in sciences at Paris, and from 1887 gave lectures in botany at the University of Caen. In 1889 he received the title of professor, and from 1896 served as director of the botanical garden at Caen.
He is known for his pioneer research of what would become known as the "telome theory", a concept involving the evolutionary history of land plants. The genera Ligniera (Maire & A.Tison, 1911; family Plasmodiophoraceae) and Lignieria (A.Chev.; family Melastomataceae) commemorate his name.