Jules Émile Planchon

Jules Émile Planchon (21 March 1823 – 1 April 1888) was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault.

Biography

After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the University of Montpellier in 1844, he worked for a while at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London, and for a few years was a teacher in Nancy and Ghent. In 1853 he became head of Department of Botanical Sciences at Montpellier University, where he remained for the remainder of his career. Planchon was highly regarded in scientific circles, and made several contributions concerning the classification of botanical species and varieties.

Planchon is remembered for his work in saving the French grape vineyards from Phylloxera vastatrix, a microscopic, yellow aphid-like pest that was an exotic species from the United States. He did this with assistance from French botanist Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet and American entomologist Charles Valentine Riley. The solution involved introduction of American grapevines {Vitis riparia and Vitis rupestris} to France for grafting purposes, making the plants resistant to Phylloxera.

Writings about Jules Planchon

• The Botanist and the Vintner; How Wine Was Saved for the World, By Christy Campbell

References

• Grande Encyclopédie (published around 1900); (biography of Jules Planchon)
• Parts of this article are based on a translation of the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia.