French botanist in Geneva. Antoine Ayasse was born in Caire (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) and for a long time was based in Nice. It was here that he began to collect plants, making numerous expeditions to the coastal Alps to herborise. In 1865 he published "Herborisations aux Alpes-Maritimes" in Verlot's Guide du Botaniste herborisant. Living in Carouge (Geneva) from 1870 he was employed as an agent for a navigation company. Beginning to explore the local area he travelled with G. Reuter, D. Rapin and C. Bader, and soon began to prepare papers on the Salix L. and Mentha L. genera. In 1879 Ayasse published the description of a new willow discovered in the region surrounding Geneva.

He later moved to Geneva itself and in 1877 was a founding member of the city's Botanical Society. Also a member of the Société Dauphinoise from 1883 he amassed a considerable European herbarium which was bequeathed to the botanical institute of the University of Geneva. Most of his specimens found their way into the Conservatoire Botanique de Genève (G) or were incorporated into the collections of other botanists. The mint species Mentha ayassei Malinv. was named after him in 1877.

Sources:
J. Briquet, 1940, "Biographies des Botanistes a Genève", Bulletin de la Société Botanique Suisse, 50a: 10-11.