Biography

French missionary who collected plants in China. François Ducloux was born at Pélussin in 1864 and left for China in 1889. Almost all his life in the east was spent in the neighbourhood of Yunnan-fu, where he became head of a missionary school. He began collecting in 1897, sending a set of about 250 species to Paris in 1900. He continued to send more consignments from this time onwards (to Paris and other European herbaria), being especially interested in ferns, and also sent living material for introduction to horticulture. He is also known for gathering material from the trees Catalpa duclouxii Dode and Juglans duclouxiana Dode (syn. Juglans regia L.), both named in his honour. Ducloux died in Kunming in 1945 and was buried there. He received several honours from the Horticultural Society of France, including its silver medal in 1922. Many plant species names are dedicated to him.

Sources:
J.H. Barnhart, 1965, Biographical Notes Upon Botanists, 1: 476
E.H.M. Cox, 1945, Plant Hunting in China: 203-204
Missions Etrangères de Paris, François Ducloux:
http://mepasie2.anakrys.biz/?q=fr/ducloux, accessed 19 August 2011.