bild

Augustin-Pyramus de Candolle (1778-1841), Swiss botanist. Candolle studied at Geneva and Paris, and in 1806-12 made a botanical survey of France under a government commission. In 1813 he published his Elementary Theory of Botany. In this he extended and developed taxonomical schemes from Cuvier and Linnaeus, describing a system which was used for the next 50 years. His taxonomy was based on morphology rather than physiology. Candolle also studied plant geography and the influence of soil types. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)