Jean-Marie Delavay (1834-1895), His Botanical Collection in Yunnan and Relationship with the National Museum of Natural History at the End of the Nineteenth Century: Cooperation, Interactions, and Contributions
Abstract
Jean-Marie Delavay (1834‑1895), a missionary of the Missions étrangères de Paris, was one of the most influential botanical collectors in Yunnan and China. He sent his collection to the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, where Adrien Franchet (1834‑1900) identified the specimens. This article examines Delavay’s collection in Yunnan and the scientific collaboration between Delavay and the Museum, based on seventy-three of his letters and other archives. It highlights the cooperation between the French state, religious orders, and scientific institutions in the nineteenth century, which contributed to advancements in the natural sciences.
Submitted: July 1, 2024 | Accepted: Feb. 3, 2025 | Published May 30, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Yunnan • Natural sciences • Missionnaire-collecteur botanique • Jean-Marie Delavay • Go-between scientific cooperation
Copyright © 2025 Guoqiang Li. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2025/02/002