Biography

French botanical artist, horticulturalist, and botanist. Pierre Antoine Poiteau was born in Ambleny, near Soissons, of very poor parents, and was illiterate when he began as a garden labourer at the Jardin des Plantes in 1790. His intelligence and enthusiasm, however, were recognised by the head gardener, André Thouin, who had him appointed as a 'gardien' at the botanical school of the Muséum nationale d'Histoire Naturelle, where Poiteau was able to fill the gaps in his education and complete his botanical training. For three years he attended every botany lecture held at the Muséum, and he excelled in drawing and painting, which he was taught by the museum's resident artist Gérard van Spaendonck.

In 1793 he was chosen to establish a new botanical school and garden in Bergerac; but when this project failed, Thouin put his protégé's name forward for an expedition to Saint Domingue. Arriving in 1796, Poiteau settled at Cap-Haïtien. Receiving neither wages nor facilities from the local administration, he was obliged at first to fund himself by drafting plans for fortifications; later, the French government representative, General Hédouville, paid him a monthly salary to prepare and maintain a herbarium of the island flora, a function which he continued to fulfil under Hédouville's successor, Roume.

After being charged with espionage by the Haitian governor, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Poiteau found himself once again without means of support, his designs for a botanical garden at Cap-Haïtien unremunerated. Fortunately, at this time he made the acquaintance of the United States Consul Edward Stevens, an amateur botanist who offered to sponsor his botanical activities, and of Pierre Jean François Turpin, who had arrived on the island as a simple soldier in the French Army and would become Poiteau's lifelong collaborator. With money from Stevens and assistance from Turpin, Poiteau began a systematic investigation of the flora of the northern part of the island (including Tortuga), which by the end of 1800, when local insurrections forced Poiteau's departure, had yielded an enormous herbarium of several thousand specimens, representing 1,200 distinct species, as well as a great quantity of seeds and several hundred detailed drawings. In gratitude for all that Stevens had done for him, Poiteau presented him with half his collection before leaving for France.

Resolved to return, Poiteau received approval for another expedition to Haiti to complete his work; preparations for it were well advanced when news came that the colony was lost to France and the free republic of Haiti had been declared.

For several years Poiteau concentrated on illustration and publishing, most notably the Flora Parisiensis, his first major work with Turpin, later ones being Traité des Arbres Fruitiers (a new edition of Duhamel du Monceau's classic work) in 1835 and Pomologie Française in 1846. In 1815 Poiteau was named royal botanist, taking charge of the tree nursery at Versailles. His travels resumed in 1818 when he was sent to French Guiana to oversee the cultivation of the royal grounds. After extensive exploration, he returned to France in 1822 with an important herbarium and zoological collection. He then served in succession as head gardener of Fontainebleau, l'École de Médicine, and the Muséum. His last years were spent as a professor at l'Institut Agronomique de Froment; in 1848 and 1853 the two volumes of his course in horticulture were published. From 1829 to 1851, he was also editor-in-chief of the Revue Horticole. He died in Paris. 18 species of plants and one genus, Poitea (Fabaceae), are named after him.

Biography

French botanical artist, horticulturalist, and botanist. Pierre Antoine Poiteau was born in Ambleny, near Soissons, of very poor parents, and was illiterate when he began as a garden labourer at the Jardin des Plantes in 1790. His intelligence and enthusiasm, however, were recognised by the head gardener, André Thouin, who had him appointed as a 'gardien' at the botanical school of the Muséum nationale d'Histoire Naturelle, where Poiteau was able to fill the gaps in his education and complete his botanical training. For three years he attended every botany lecture held at the Muséum, and he excelled in drawing and painting, which he was taught by the museum's resident artist Gérard van Spaendonck.

In 1793 he was chosen to establish a new botanical school and garden in Bergerac; but when this project failed, Thouin put his protégé's name forward for an expedition to Saint Domingue. Arriving in 1796, Poiteau settled at Cap-Haïtien. Receiving neither wages nor facilities from the local administration, he was obliged at first to fund himself by drafting plans for fortifications; later, the French government representative, General Hédouville, paid him a monthly salary to prepare and maintain a herbarium of the island flora, a function which he continued to fulfil under Hédouville's successor, Roume.

After being charged with espionage by the Haitian governor, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Poiteau found himself once again without means of support, his designs for a botanical garden at Cap-Haïtien unremunerated. Fortunately, at this time he made the acquaintance of the United States Consul Edward Stevens, an amateur botanist who offered to sponsor his botanical activities, and of Pierre Jean François Turpin, who had arrived on the island as a simple soldier in the French Army and would become Poiteau's lifelong collaborator. With money from Stevens and assistance from Turpin, Poiteau began a systematic investigation of the flora of the northern part of the island (including Tortuga), which by the end of 1800, when local insurrections forced Poiteau's departure, had yielded an enormous herbarium of several thousand specimens, representing 1,200 distinct species, as well as a great quantity of seeds and several hundred detailed drawings. In gratitude for all that Stevens had done for him, Poiteau presented him with half his collection before leaving for France.

Resolved to return, Poiteau received approval for another expedition to Haiti to complete his work; preparations for it were well advanced when news came that the colony was lost to France and the free republic of Haiti had been declared.

For several years Poiteau concentrated on illustration and publishing, most notably the Flora Parisiensis, his first major work with Turpin, later ones being Traité des Arbres Fruitiers (a new edition of Duhamel du Monceau's classic work) in 1835 and Pomologie Française in 1846. In 1815 Poiteau was named royal botanist, taking charge of the tree nursery at Versailles. His travels resumed in 1818 when he was sent to French Guiana to oversee the cultivation of the royal grounds. After extensive exploration, he returned to France in 1822 with an important herbarium and zoological collection. He then served in succession as head gardener of Fontainebleau, l'École de Médicine, and the Muséum. His last years were spent as a professor at l'Institut Agronomique de Froment; in 1848 and 1853 the two volumes of his course in horticulture were published. From 1829 to 1851, he was also editor-in-chief of the Revue Horticole. He died in Paris. 18 species of plants and one genus, Poitea (Fabaceae), are named after him.

Biography

French botanical artist, horticulturalist, and botanist. Pierre Antoine Poiteau was born in Ambleny, near Soissons, of very poor parents, and was illiterate when he began as a garden labourer at the Jardin des Plantes in 1790. His intelligence and enthusiasm, however, were recognised by the head gardener, André Thouin, who had him appointed as a 'gardien' at the botanical school of the Muséum nationale d'Histoire Naturelle, where Poiteau was able to fill the gaps in his education and complete his botanical training. For three years he attended every botany lecture held at the Muséum, and he excelled in drawing and painting, which he was taught by the museum's resident artist Gérard van Spaendonck.

In 1793 he was chosen to establish a new botanical school and garden in Bergerac; but when this project failed, Thouin put his protégé's name forward for an expedition to Saint Domingue. Arriving in 1796, Poiteau settled at Cap-Haïtien. Receiving neither wages nor facilities from the local administration, he was obliged at first to fund himself by drafting plans for fortifications; later, the French government representative, General Hédouville, paid him a monthly salary to prepare and maintain a herbarium of the island flora, a function which he continued to fulfil under Hédouville's successor, Roume.

After being charged with espionage by the Haitian governor, Toussaint L'Ouverture, Poiteau found himself once again without means of support, his designs for a botanical garden at Cap-Haïtien unremunerated. Fortunately, at this time he made the acquaintance of the United States Consul Edward Stevens, an amateur botanist who offered to sponsor his botanical activities, and of Pierre Jean François Turpin, who had arrived on the island as a simple soldier in the French Army and would become Poiteau's lifelong collaborator. With money from Stevens and assistance from Turpin, Poiteau began a systematic investigation of the flora of the northern part of the island (including Tortuga), which by the end of 1800, when local insurrections forced Poiteau's departure, had yielded an enormous herbarium of several thousand specimens, representing 1,200 distinct species, as well as a great quantity of seeds and several hundred detailed drawings. In gratitude for all that Stevens had done for him, Poiteau presented him with half his collection before leaving for France.

Resolved to return, Poiteau received approval for another expedition to Haiti to complete his work; preparations for it were well advanced when news came that the colony was lost to France and the free republic of Haiti had been declared.

For several years Poiteau concentrated on illustration and publishing, most notably the Flora Parisiensis, his first major work with Turpin, later ones being Traité des Arbres Fruitiers (a new edition of Duhamel du Monceau's classic work) in 1835 and Pomologie Française in 1846. In 1815 Poiteau was named royal botanist, taking charge of the tree nursery at Versailles. His travels resumed in 1818 when he was sent to French Guiana to oversee the cultivation of the royal grounds. After extensive exploration, he returned to France in 1822 with an important herbarium and zoological collection. He then served in succession as head gardener of Fontainebleau, l'École de Médicine, and the Muséum. His last years were spent as a professor at l'Institut Agronomique de Froment; in 1848 and 1853 the two volumes of his course in horticulture were published. From 1829 to 1851, he was also editor-in-chief of the Revue Horticole. He died in Paris. 18 species of plants and one genus, Poitea (Fabaceae), are named after him.