Charles-Joseph Marie Pitard Explained

Charles-Joseph Marie Pitard, name sometimes given as Charles-Joseph Marie Pitard-Briau (30 October 1873 – 29 December 1927) was a French pharmacist and botanist.^[1]

In 1899 he obtained his doctorate in natural sciences at the University of Bordeaux, later serving as a professor at the school of medicine in Tours. He conducted botanical and exploratory investigations in the Canary Islands (1904–06), Tunisia (1907–10 & 1913) and Morocco (1911–13). Many of his plant collections were sent to herbaria in Geneva and Paris.^{[2] [3]}

He was the taxonomic authority of numerous botanical taxa. About 525 names have been published. Such as Aichryson mollii Pit., Iles Canaries 189.^[4]

The genus Pitardia (Batt. ex Pit.), now classed as a synonym of Nepeta,^[5] was named in his honor.^[3] Then in 2003, Tirveng. published Pitardella, a genus of flowering plants from Indo-China, belonging to the family Rubiaceae.^[6]

Also named in his honour, are plants with the specific epithets of pitardii (about 27) and pitardiana (about 7).^{[7] [8]} Such as Beaumontia pitardii,^[9] and also Poa pitardiana .^[10]

Published works

• Les Iles Canaries. Flore de l'Archipel (1908) – The Canary Islands, flora of the archipelago (with Louis Proust, 1878–1959).
• Contribution à l'étude de la Flore du Maroc (1931) – Contribution to the study of Moroccan flora.^[2]

Pitard also made significant contributions to the "Flore générale de L'Indo-Chine" (General flora of Indochina).^[11]

Notes and References

1. Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. Volume 34. Pages 125-128. 1928. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/213840#page/131/mode/1up
2. http://plants.jstor.org/person/bm000006565 JSTOR Global Plants
3. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33189748#page/291/mode/1up BHL
4. Web site: Pitard, Charles-Joseph Marie International Plant Names Index . www.ipni.org . 15 November 2021.
5. Web site: Pitardia Batt. ex Pit. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 15 November 2021 . en.
6. Web site: Pitardella Tirveng. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 24 May 2021 . en.
7. Book: Harrison, Lorraine . RHS Latin for Gardeners . 2012 . Mitchell Beazley . United Kingdom . 978-1845337315 .
8. https://books.google.com/books?id=FQRHAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Charles-Joseph+Marie+Pitard%22+1873&pg=PA230 Etymological Dictionary of Grasses
9. Web site: Beaumontia pitardii Tsiang Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 15 November 2021 . en.
10. Web site: Poa pitardiana H.Scholz Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 15 November 2021 . en.
11. http://www.worldcat.org/title/flore-generale-de-lindo-chine/oclc/479242986#details-allauthors WorldCat Title