Théophile Alexis Durand

{{Short description|Belgian botanist}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = Théophile Alexis Durand | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Theophile Alexis Durand 1855—1912.jpg | image_size = | image_upright = | landscape =  | alt = A black and white photo of a bald man with a short beard wearing a dark coat | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth date|1855|09|4}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|1912|01|12|1855|09|4}} | death_place = | death_cause =  | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | other_names = | siglum = | pronounce = | citizenship =  | nationality =  | fields = Botany | workplaces = | patrons = | education = | alma_mater = University of Liège | thesis_title =  | thesis_url =  | thesis_year =  | doctoral_advisor =  | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | awards = | author_abbrev_bot = '''T.Durand''' | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse =  | partner =  | children = | parents = | father = | mother = | relatives = | signature =  | signature_type =  | signature_alt = | website =  | footnotes = }} '''Théophile Alexis Durand''' (4 September 1855, in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode – 12 January 1912) was a Belgian botanist.

He studied pharmacy at the University of Liège, afterwards travelling to Switzerland, where he befriended botanist Henri François Pittier, with whom he collaborated on studies of Swiss flora. When Pittier later moved to Costa Rica, he provided Durand with dried specimens for study purposes.<ref name=GM>[http://www.br.fgov.be/PUBLIC/GENERAL/HISTORY/durand.php Botanic Garden Meise, History] biography</ref> Both together edited the exsiccata-like series ''Plantae Costaricenses exsiccatae''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plantae Costaricenses exsiccatae: IndExs ExsiccataID=1909243135 |website=IndExs – Index of Exsiccatae |publisher=Botanische Staatssammlung München |url=https://www.botanischestaatssammlung.de/DatabaseClients/IndExs/Exsiccatae_IndExs_Details.jsp?ExsiccataID=1909243135 |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> Beginning in 1879, he was associated with the National Botanic Garden of Belgium, where in 1901, he succeeded François Crépin as its director. In 1910 he was appointed president of the International Botanical Congress, held in Brussels.<ref name=SU>[http://www.herbarien.uzh.ch/static/database/sammlerdetails_de.php?id=7477 Zürcher Herbarien, Universität Zürich] biographical information</ref>

With his daughter, illustrator Hélène Durand, he published "Sylloge Florae Congolanae" (1909).<ref name=SU/> He also made significant contributions to the "Index Kewensis" (first supplement, 1901–1906). Some plants with the specific epithet of ''durandii'' commemorate his name, an example being ''Celtis durandii'' (family Cannabaceae).<ref name=GM/>

== Selected works == * ''Catalogue de la flore liégeoise'', 1878. * "Index generum phanerogamorum", 1888. * "Primitiae florae costaricensis", 1891–1901 (with Henri François Pittier). * ''Matériaux pour la flore du Congo'', 1897–1901 (with Émile Auguste Joseph De Wildeman). * "Conspectus floræ Africæ, ou Énumération des plantes d'Afrique", 1895–1898 (with Hans Schinz). * "Sylloge florae congolanae [Phanerogamae]" 1909.<ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3ADurand%2C+Th.&qt=hot_author OCLC WorldCat] published works</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, Theophile Alexis}} Category:1855 births Category:1912 deaths Category:People from Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Category:19th-century Belgian botanists Category:20th-century Belgian botanists