Испан ботаны Антонио Хосе Каваниллес және оның ғылыми еңбектері

Spanish botanist (1745 1804)

Antonio José Cavanilles (16 January 1745 – 5 May 1804) was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist, artist and one of the most important figures in the 18th century period of Enlightenment in Spain. Cavanilles is most famous for his 2 volume book on Spanish flora, published in 1795 and titled ‘Observations on the Natural History, Geography and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Valencia’. He named many plants, particularly from Oceania. He named at least 100 genera, about 54 of which were still used in 2004, including Dahlia, Calycera, Cobaea, Galphimia, and Oleandra.

Cavanilles was born in Valencia. He lived in Paris from 1777 to 1781, where he followed careers as a clergyman and a botanist, thanks to André Thouin and Antoine Laurent de Jussieu. He was one of the first Spanish scientists to use the classification method invented by Carl Linnaeus.

Antonio José Cavanilles was born on January 16, 1745, in Valencia, Spain. In his youth Cavanilles specialized in the study of mathematics and physics and obtained a doctorate in theology. Because he failed to secure the professorship to which he aspired, he accepted the post of guardian to the sons of the duke of Infantado and accompanied the duke to Paris in 1777. Returning to Spain In 1789 he became fascinated with botany and took courses given by the renowned naturalists A. Laurent de Jussieu and Lamarck. He studied at the University of Valencia, where he developed an interest in botany and natural history. He published, in 1785, the first of ten monographs that constitute his Monadelphiae.

Cavanilles llustrated his own Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum (1791 1801).

During his official research into Spanish flora (starting his journey in Valencia) that Cavanilles made significant contributions to the field of medicine. Cavanilles identified the components of a popular Valencian remedy against rabies, after first checking its validity with the medical community. The positive results of this peer review gave rise to at least ten published articles in the ‘Annals of Natural Science’. One more notable medical achievement was his identification of the rise in fatal diseases in regions which cultivated rice, due to the diversion of the water supply to the detriment of other areas which could more efficiently make use of this water for more important crops. This resulted in local laws passed in Almenara (province of Castellón) to reduce the negative effects of rice paddies on the water supply and caused an immediate reduction in the local rate of fatal diseases.

Cavanilles' work laid the foundation for modern botanical studies in Spain and had a lasting impact on the field of botany worldwide. His herbarium specimens and publications remain valuable resources for botanical research. He died in Madrid in 1804.

Icones et descriptiones plantarum, quae aut sponte in Hispania crescunt, aut in hortis hospitantur , Madrid, 1791 1801
Monadelphiae Classis Dissertationes Decem. (Paris, 1785; Madrid, 1790). Observaciones sobre la historia natural, geografia, agricultura, población y frutos del reyno de Valencia, 2 vols. (Madrid, 1795–1797; new Zaragoza edition, 1958), a work in which he attempts to fix the natural wealth of the region studied. Descripción de las plantas que Don A. J. Cavanilles demostró en las lecciones púhlicas del año 1801 (Madrid, 1803. 1804). Ant. Iosephi Cavanilles Icones et descriptiones plantarum, quæ aut sponte in Hispania crescunt aut in hortis hospitantur. Madrid : Madrid Royal Printing, 1791.