Jules Émile Planchon

Jules Émile Planchon (March 21, 1823 – April 1, 1888) was a French botanist. After receiving his Doctorate of Sciences degree 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 the 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 the assistance of his fellow French botanist Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet and the American entomologist Charles Valentine Riley. The solution was the introduction of American grapevines {"Vitis riparia" and "Vitis rupestris"} to France for grafting purposes, which made 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

* [http://www.victoria-adventure.org/water_gardening/biographies/jules-emile_planchon.html Short Biography of Jules Planchon]
*French Wikipedia Site; Jules Planchon