André Michaux in Florida

An Eighteenth-Century Botanical Journey

Walter Kingsley Taylor, Eliane M. Norman

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780813080451, 9780813024448
• eBook ISBN: 9780813073170
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies
• Index: Biological Sciences

Retracing the eighteenth-century Florida exploration of botanist Andre Michaux

 

The name Michaux often appears in the plant names of Florida, from the endangered yellow violets that grow wild in the panhandle to the Florida rosemary of the scrub. Andre Michaux (1746-1803) was one of the most extraordinary and dynamic individuals of early explorations in North America and the first trained botanist to explore extensively the wilderness east of the Mississippi River, including Spanish East Florida. This first book-length account of Michaux's Florida exploration combines his original journal with writings about him by later authors, historical background, and the author's own narrative to create a multifaceted, comprehensive treatise on Michaux's travels and discoveries in Florida.

Beginning with a biographical sketch on the life of Andre Michaux, royal botanist for King Louis XVI of France, the authors retrace  (using 16 maps) the exploratory routes he took in Florida and recount historical events occurring in Florida at the time.  They include in full documentary form all the plants he discovered, collected, and observed and fully assess his findings so that his contributions can now be evaluated along with those of better-known botanists of whom much has been written, such  as John Bartram and his son William--who acknowledged the Frenchman's abilities, writing that Michaux could traverse the same ground that he and his father had covered and find plants that they had missed.

From a historical as well as a botanical perspective, Andre Michaux in Florida  re-creates the Florida exploration of a remarkable explorer and observer and allows us to experience vicariously the vibrancy and joy of his journey of discovery.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Photos
• List of Maps
• Preface
• 1. Introducing André Michaux and His Times
• 2. To the New World
• 3. The Two Floridas
• 4. André Michaux Comes to Florida: 1788
• Epilogue
• Appendix 1-1. Plants Documented by John Bartram, William Bartram, and André Michaux while in Florida
• Appendix 1-2. Plants Indicated by André Michaux to Be Part of the Florida Flora
• Appendix 2. Letters and Documents Pertaining to André Michaux’s Mission in America
• Literature Cited
• Index
• About the Authors