Swiss botanist and explorer Pierre Edmond Boissier was amongst the most prolific collectors of the 19th century. Travelling through much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East he produced a vast taxonomic output. The Geneva-born traveller was schooled privately in his home by J.L. Vallette and received lessons in Latin and Italian, but developed his love of the natural world during holidays in Jura and the Alps with his mother and grandfather, the physician and naturalist Pierre Butini. Later he would study under one of the only other botanists to rival his productivity, A.P. de Candolle, at the Academy of Geneva. Boissier also continued his studies in Paris between 1831 and 1832 with J. Gay and Philip Barker Webb. A man of ample means he was financially independent, healthy and a competent mountaineer and therefore able to travel freely pursuing his interest in plant diversity, often alongside his companion Georges-François Reuter. Initially focussed on the exploration of the Spanish flora he visited the country nine times, publishing an important and interesting account entitled Voyage botanique dans le midi de l'Espagne pendant l'année 1837 (1839-1845). This work is not only a compilation of the plants he discovered, but also an informed travel guide describing his journeys, the Spanish countryside and its people, and also contains illustrations by J.C. Heyland.

Boissier travelled much more extensively in other parts of Europe, however, visiting Italy, France, and Norway. From 1840 he had a growing desire to travel east in search of new plants and this year he married Lucile Butini. Two years later Boissier undertook his first trip to the Orient and soon returned to visit Egypt, Arabia, Palestine and Syria in 1845-1846. He often travelled in the company of his wife, but unfortunately she died of an infectious disease in 1849 while the pair were on a tour of Spain and North Africa (Algeria). They had a daughter, Caroline Barbey-Boissier, in 1847, who collected with her father and went on to marry the naturalist William Barbey, with whom she developed a large herbarium.

From the study of his extensive collection Boissier produced several important publications, known simply as his 'Diagnoses', they are comprised of the Diagnoses plantarum novarum hispanicum (published with Reuter in 1842) and Diagnoses plantarum orientalium novarum (1842-1859). Together these matter-of-fact catalogues contained the descriptions of 3336 species in 19 parts. Later on, in 1867, he produced a Flora orientalis which contains the descriptions of 11,681 species, and he also produced the Euphorbiaceae and Plumbaginaceae monographs for A. P. de Candolle's Prodromus. Despite the relegation of several of his names through synonymy his publications represent pioneering work which has been used as the baseline reference for the national floras of all the regions he visited. The Poaceae genus Boissiera Hochst. And Steud. As well as several specific epithets honour his name and his herbarium is housed in the botanic garden in Geneva: the Herbier Boissier (G-BOIS); with duplicates held in a large number of different herbaria.

Sources:
B.J. Prinsen, The Pinsapo or Spanish silver spur, Andalucia travel guide:
http://www.andalucia-travelguide.com/about-andalucia/the-pinsapo-or-spanish-silver-spir/, accessed February 2010
F.A. Stafleu, 1970, "Boissier's Diagnoses", Taxon, 19: 803-805
F.A. Stafleu and R. S. Cowan, 1976-1998, Taxonomic Literature, (2nd edition)
Wikipedia, Pierre Edmond Boissier:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Edmond_Boissier, accessed February 2010.