Antoine Nicolas Duchesne (born 7 October 1747 Versailles; died 18 February 1827 Paris) was a French botanist known for his keen observation of variation within species, and for demonstrating that species are not immutable, because mutations can occur.[1] "As Duchesne's observations were unaided by knowledge of modern concepts of genetics and molecular biology, his insight was truly remarkable."[2] His particular interests were in strawberries and gourds.[3]
Duchesne worked in the gardens of Versailles, where he was a student of Bernard de Jussieu and corresponded with Carl Linnaeus.[1] He established a notable collection of strawberries in the botanical garden of the Petit Trianon and was the first to document the separation of sexes in wild strawberry and the hybrid origin of the garden strawberry.[1]
The genus Duchesnea Sm. (Rosaceae) was named after him.
- ^ a b c Darrow, G.M. 1966. The Strawberry: History, Breeding and Physiology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Archived December 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Harry S. Paris, 2000. Paintings (1769–1774) by A. N. Duchesne and the History of Cucurbita pepo. Annals of Botany 85:815–830, doi:10.1006/anbo.2000.1147
- ^ Ratcliff, M. J. (2007). Duchesne’s Strawberries: Between Growers’ Practices and Academic Knowledge. In S. Müller-Wille and H.-J. Rheinberger [eds.]. Heredity Produced: At the Crossroads of Biology, Politics, and Culture, 1500–1870. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. pp. 205–228
- ^ International Plant Names Index. Duchesne.