Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre

Who was Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre?

Jean Baptiste Louis Pierre, also known as J. B. Louis Pierre, was a French botanist known for his Asian studies.

Pierre was born in Saint-André, Réunion, and studied in Paris before working in the botanical gardens of Calcutta, India. In 1864 he founded the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, which he directed until 1877, after which he returned to Paris where he lived at 63 rue Monge, close to the Paris Herbarium. In 1883 he moved to Charenton, then to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, then to Saint-Mandé, and finally to 18 rue Cuvier in Paris, where he lived until his death.

Pierre made many scientific explorations in tropical Asia. His publications include the Flore forestière de la Cochinchine, an article "Sur les plantes à caoutchouc de l'Indochine" and the section on Sapotaceae in the Notes botaniques.

Several genera were named in Pierre's honor: Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler named Pierreodendron of the family Simaroubaceae, and Pierrina of the family Scytopetalaceae; Auguste Jean Baptiste Chevalier named Pierreodendron of the family Sapotaceae; and Henry Fletcher Hance named Pierrea of the family Flacourtiaceae. In 1933 a bust in his honor was dedicated in the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens.