Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Australian National Herbarium Biographical Notes

Leschenault de la Tour, Jean B.C.T. (1773 - 1826)

Born in Chalons-sur-Saone, France, on 13 November 1773, died in Paris, France, on 14 March 1826.

Full name: Jean Baptiste Claude Théodore Leschenault de la Tour

Botanist on the voyage of the Géographe and Naturaliste (Baudin, 1801 - 1803), which visited the north-west, west and south coasts of Western Australia, coastal South Australia, Port Jackson, New South Wales, and King Island in Bass Strait. Leschenault later visited Java, Cape Verde Islands, Cape of Good Hope, India, Sri Lanka, Brazil and British Guyana, but published little. His collections were subsequently used by other French botanists, including Bonpland, Desfontaines, de Jussieu, Labillardière and Ventenat.

His herbarium was lodged in P, with some duplicates in FI, G-DC, G-DEL, H, K, L, MO, NY, OXF (150 specimens) and PC.

His home near Chalons-sur-Saône, called "Le Villard", still belongs to the family as it has since 1718.

Extracted from: A.E.Orchard (1999) A History of Systematic Botany in Australia, in Flora of Australia Vol.1, 2nd ed., ABRS. [consult for source references], and Henri Leschenault du Villard (pers comm).