Joseph-Henri Léveillé

Who was Joseph-Henri Léveillé?

Joseph-Henri Léveillé was a French physician and mycologist who was a native of Crux-la-Ville, in the department of Nièvre.

Léveillé studied medicine and mycology at the University of Paris, and in 1824 received his medical doctorate.

In his 1837 paper Sur le hymenium des champignons, he provided an early, comprehensive description of the basidium and cystidium of basidiomycete fungi, and was able to establish the role that the basidium played in spore production. Also, he made important findings in regards to the true nature of individual members of the so-called genus "Sclerotium".