Luis Née (July 12, 1735 – October 3, 1807) was a French-born Spanish botanist and prolific collector of plant specimens who accompanied the Malaspina Expedition on its five-year scientific exploration of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands. In addition to his botanical work he was a pharmacist with a keen interest in medicinal plants and their applications.
Little is known about Née's early life. He was born just outside Paris, in Le Perray-en-Yvelines, to a working-class family. He had only a basic education but from an early age exhibited an interest in botany and collecting plants. He eventually moved to Spain and later became a Spanish citizen.[1][2]
By 1772 Née was working for the pharmacy at the Monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Espina and collecting plants in the mountains of Santander and Asturias.[1] In 1777 he went to work for Casimiro Gómez Ortega, director of the botanic gardens in Madrid, collecting plants and studying in their library. In 1780 he became the head pharmacist for the field army in Gibraltar. He developed a garden of medicinal plants for the hospital in Algeciras and published his Botanical Observations made in Andalucía in 1780, 1781 and 1782.[1] Meanwhile, Née continued to collect plants in the mountains of Málaga, Algeciras, Gibraltar, and Andalucia.[3] In addition to collecting preserved specimens for the herbarium, Née gathered live plants which he then grew in his personal gardens. His proficiency as a gardener won him a royal commission in 1784 to create a new botanic garden in Pamplona.[4]
Malaspina expeditionEdit
In 1788 Alessandro Malaspina, an officer in the Spanish Navy, petitioned the Spanish government to support a scientific expedition that would visit nearly all the Spanish possessions in the Americas and Asia. King Charles III, a promoter of science in the Spanish Empire, approved the venture which came to be known as the Malaspina Expedition. Malaspina planned to include three naturalists on his scientific team. He first hired Antonio Pineda and Thaddeus Haenke. Pineda was designated the lead naturalist and at his recommendation, Luis Née was proposed to fill the third spot. On February 4, 1789 King Charles IV officially appointed Née as a botanist on the expedition.[4]
The expedition, comprising two ships, set sail from Cadiz on July 30, 1789; Née was aboard the Atrevida, commanded by Jose de Bustamante y Guerra and Pineda was on the second ship, Descubierta, commanded by Malaspina. Haenke missed the start of the voyage and caught up with the ships nine months later. They stopped first in Montevideo on July 30, 1789 and then circled South America with stops in Patagonia, Chile, Peru, Panama, and Nicaragua. At each port Née spent several days or weeks collecting plants in the surrounding region. In addition to collecting plants, Malaspina recalled an incident when Née and Pineda tested a local species of Solanum on themselves resulting in severe vomiting and overall pain and swelling.[4]
When they reached Acapulco on March 27, 1791, Née and Pineda settled down for an extended period of botanizing in Mexico while the expedition proceeded along the coast of North America to Alaska. During the next six months Née collected almost 3,000 plant specimens while travelling over 1,500 miles throughout Mexico. Malaspina returned to Acapulco in December 1791 to pick up Née and Pineda and then head west to Asia.[4]
Six weeks later they reached Marianas Islands where Née collected several rare plants that were later described in his publication, Observaciones Botanicas - Islas Marianas.[4] From there they sailed to the Philippines, reaching Sorsogon Bay in early March 1792. Née was anxious to explore the interior of the island, so he arranged to be left at Sorsogon Bay and travelled alone to Manila where he met up with the expedition three months later. While in the Philippines he collected some 2,400 specimens and kept a journal where he recorded his observations on natural history, agriculture, and native customs. Meanwhile, Pineda was on a separate collecting trip when he became seriously ill and died.[3]
After the Philippines, the two ships visited Australia, New Zealand and Tonga before heading back across the Pacific to South America. From Chile, Née again left the main expedition and journeyed overland across Chile and Argentina to meet up with the team in Montevideo. This was their last port of call; war was threatening in Europe and Malaspina was ordered to prepare his ships for possible battle and return home. They reached Cadiz on September 21, 1794,completing a voyage that lasted more than five years.[4]
Post-expeditionEdit
Née remained in Cadiz until December, sorting and arranging the enormous number of plant specimens that had been collected by the expedition. He estimated that he personally had collected more than 12,000 specimens, the largest numbers coming from Mexico (2,900), the Philippines (2,400) and Peru (1,600).[4] Much of this collection was transferred to the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid where his friend Antonio José Cavanilles served as director.[1] Née's collection ultimately formed the nucleus of the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens.[4]
Despite his intention to identify and describe the entire collection, Née did not publish extensively but he did help Cavanilles with his botanical works and, after receiving a pension in 1801, published regularly in the Anales de Ciencias Naturales. He described several new plant species including Quercus agrifolia (coast live oak) and Quercus lobata (valley oak), both from California. This has sometimes led to the mistaken assumption that Née was in California, but these specimens were gathered by others on the expedition while he was in Mexico.[1]
Most of Née's botanical work ceased after 1804 and he died on October 3, 1807.[4]
Madulid, Domingo A. (1989). "The life and work of Luis Née, botanist of the Malaspina expedition". Archives of Natural History. 16 (1): 33–48. doi:10.3366/anh.1989.16.1.33. PMID 11622207.
Mallari, Francisco (1988). "Luis Née: a naturalist in the Philippines, 1792". Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society. 16 (3/4): 179–209.
McKelvey, Susan Delano (1955). Botanical exploration of the trans-Mississippi West, 1790-1850. Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. pp. 15–25.
"Née, Luis (1734-1807)". JSTOR Global Plants. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
August 27, 2023
luis, née, july, 1735, october, 1807, french, born, spanish, botanist, prolific, collector, plant, specimens, accompanied, malaspina, expedition, five, year, scientific, exploration, pacific, ocean, surrounding, lands, addition, botanical, work, pharmacist, wi. Luis Nee July 12 1735 October 3 1807 was a French born Spanish botanist and prolific collector of plant specimens who accompanied the Malaspina Expedition on its five year scientific exploration of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands In addition to his botanical work he was a pharmacist with a keen interest in medicinal plants and their applications Luis Nee Contents 1 Early life 2 Malaspina expedition 3 Post expedition 4 See also 5 Notes 6 ReferencesEarly life EditLittle is known about Nee s early life He was born just outside Paris in Le Perray en Yvelines to a working class family He had only a basic education but from an early age exhibited an interest in botany and collecting plants He eventually moved to Spain and later became a Spanish citizen 1 2 By 1772 Nee was working for the pharmacy at the Monastery of Nuestra Senora de la Espina and collecting plants in the mountains of Santander and Asturias 1 In 1777 he went to work for Casimiro Gomez Ortega director of the botanic gardens in Madrid collecting plants and studying in their library In 1780 he became the head pharmacist for the field army in Gibraltar He developed a garden of medicinal plants for the hospital in Algeciras and published his Botanical Observations made in Andalucia in 1780 1781 and 1782 1 Meanwhile Nee continued to collect plants in the mountains of Malaga Algeciras Gibraltar and Andalucia 3 In addition to collecting preserved specimens for the herbarium Nee gathered live plants which he then grew in his personal gardens His proficiency as a gardener won him a royal commission in 1784 to create a new botanic garden in Pamplona 4 Malaspina expedition EditIn 1788 Alessandro Malaspina an officer in the Spanish Navy petitioned the Spanish government to support a scientific expedition that would visit nearly all the Spanish possessions in the Americas and Asia King Charles III a promoter of science in the Spanish Empire approved the venture which came to be known as the Malaspina Expedition Malaspina planned to include three naturalists on his scientific team He first hired Antonio Pineda and Thaddeus Haenke Pineda was designated the lead naturalist and at his recommendation Luis Nee was proposed to fill the third spot On February 4 1789 King Charles IV officially appointed Nee as a botanist on the expedition 4 The expedition comprising two ships set sail from Cadiz on July 30 1789 Nee was aboard the Atrevida commanded by Jose de Bustamante y Guerra and Pineda was on the second ship Descubierta commanded by Malaspina Haenke missed the start of the voyage and caught up with the ships nine months later They stopped first in Montevideo on July 30 1789 and then circled South America with stops in Patagonia Chile Peru Panama and Nicaragua At each port Nee spent several days or weeks collecting plants in the surrounding region In addition to collecting plants Malaspina recalled an incident when Nee and Pineda tested a local species of Solanum on themselves resulting in severe vomiting and overall pain and swelling 4 When they reached Acapulco on March 27 1791 Nee and Pineda settled down for an extended period of botanizing in Mexico while the expedition proceeded along the coast of North America to Alaska During the next six months Nee collected almost 3 000 plant specimens while travelling over 1 500 miles throughout Mexico Malaspina returned to Acapulco in December 1791 to pick up Nee and Pineda and then head west to Asia 4 Six weeks later they reached Marianas Islands where Nee collected several rare plants that were later described in his publication Observaciones Botanicas Islas Marianas 4 From there they sailed to the Philippines reaching Sorsogon Bay in early March 1792 Nee was anxious to explore the interior of the island so he arranged to be left at Sorsogon Bay and travelled alone to Manila where he met up with the expedition three months later While in the Philippines he collected some 2 400 specimens and kept a journal where he recorded his observations on natural history agriculture and native customs Meanwhile Pineda was on a separate collecting trip when he became seriously ill and died 3 After the Philippines the two ships visited Australia New Zealand and Tonga before heading back across the Pacific to South America From Chile Nee again left the main expedition and journeyed overland across Chile and Argentina to meet up with the team in Montevideo This was their last port of call war was threatening in Europe and Malaspina was ordered to prepare his ships for possible battle and return home They reached Cadiz on September 21 1794 completing a voyage that lasted more than five years 4 Post expedition EditNee remained in Cadiz until December sorting and arranging the enormous number of plant specimens that had been collected by the expedition He estimated that he personally had collected more than 12 000 specimens the largest numbers coming from Mexico 2 900 the Philippines 2 400 and Peru 1 600 4 Much of this collection was transferred to the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid where his friend Antonio Jose Cavanilles served as director 1 Nee s collection ultimately formed the nucleus of the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens 4 Despite his intention to identify and describe the entire collection Nee did not publish extensively but he did help Cavanilles with his botanical works and after receiving a pension in 1801 published regularly in the Anales de Ciencias Naturales He described several new plant species including Quercus agrifolia coast live oak and Quercus lobata valley oak both from California This has sometimes led to the mistaken assumption that Nee was in California but these specimens were gathered by others on the expedition while he was in Mexico 1 Most of Nee s botanical work ceased after 1804 and he died on October 3 1807 4 Nee had two sons from two different marriages In 1794 botanists Jose Pavon and Hipolito Ruiz named the genus Neea in his honour 1 Then in 1976 botanist Cyrus Longworth Lundell published Neeopsis a monotypic genus of flowering plants from Guatemala belonging to the family Nyctaginaceae also in his honour 5 The standard author abbreviation Nee is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name 6 See also EditEuropean and American voyages of scientific explorationNotes Edit a b c d e f JSTOR Global Plants Parish registers Le Perray en Yvelines Archives departementales Yvelines France a b Mallari 1988 a b c d e f g h i Madulid 1989 Neeopsis Lundell Plants of the World Online Kew Science Plants of the World Online Retrieved 27 May 2021 International Plant Names Index Nee References EditMadulid Domingo A 1989 The life and work of Luis Nee botanist of the Malaspina expedition Archives of Natural History 16 1 33 48 doi 10 3366 anh 1989 16 1 33 PMID 11622207 Mallari Francisco 1988 Luis Nee a naturalist in the Philippines 1792 Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 16 3 4 179 209 McKelvey Susan Delano 1955 Botanical exploration of the trans Mississippi West 1790 1850 Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University pp 15 25 Nee Luis 1734 1807 JSTOR Global Plants Retrieved 16 April 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Luis Nee amp oldid 1156672028, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
