Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (1755–1834) was a French botanist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

He was born in Alençon, Normandy and studied medicine at Montpelier and Reims. He turned to natural history and studied in England with Sir Joseph Banks and Sir James Edward Smith. Alençon is a town in Normandy, France, préfecture (capital) of the Orne département. ... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... Medicine on the Web NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Dictionary Collection of links to free medical resources Categories: Medicine | Health ... Montpellier is the name of a Southern French city. ... Location within France Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ... Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks (February 13, 1743 - June 19, 1820) was the English naturalist and botanist on Cooks first great voyage (1768-1771) and some 75 species bear Banks name. ... For the mayor of Toronto by this name please see James Edward Smith (Toronto). ...

In 1791 Labillardière was appointed as a naturalist to Bruni d'Entrecasteaux's expedition to Oceania in search of the lost ships of Jean-François de Galaup, count de La Pérouse. D'Entrecasteaux failed to find any trace of the missing expedition, but his ships visited southwest Australia, Tasmania, the North Island of New Zealand, and the East Indies, where Labillardière, Claude Riche, and Étienne Pierre Ventenat collected zoological, botanical and geological specimens, and described the customs and languages of the aboriginal peoples. 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni DEntrecasteaux (1739–1793) was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse. ... Map of Oceania. ... Lapérouse by François Rude (1784-1855), in 1828 Lapérouse Jean François Galaup, count (comte) of La Pérouse (August 23, 1741 - 1788) was a French naval officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ... The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... Australian Aborigines are the main indigenous people of Australia. ...

While the expedition was exploring Oceania, the French Revolutionary Wars had broken out in Europe, and when the ships reached Java Labillardière's scientific collections were seized by the British as spoils of war. Labillardière despaired at the loss of three years' painstaking work, but he had an ally in Joseph Banks, who campaigned for the return of the collections. In 1796 his lobbying succeeded, and he was able to write to William Price at the British Museum: Map of Oceania. ... The French Revolutionary Wars occurred between the outbreak of war between the French Revolutionary government and Austria in 1792 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. ... Map of Java Java (Indonesian: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ... The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds largest and most important museums of ancient history. ...

… his Majesty's Ministers have thought it necessary for the honour of the British nation and for the advancement of Science that the right of the Captors to the Collection should be on this occasion wav'd and that the whole should be returned to M. de Billardiere, in order that he may be able to publish his Observations on Natural History in a complete manner … By this her Majesty will lose an acquisition to her herbarium, which I very much wish'd to see deposited there, but the national character of Great Britain will certainly gain much credit for holding a conduct towards Science and Scientific men liberal in the highest degree.

Labillardière returned to France with his collections in 1796. In 1800 he published an account of his voyage and was elected to the Académie des sciences. Between 1804 and 1807 he published Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen, a description of the flora of Australia. The French Academy of Sciences (Académie des sciences) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. ...

His is commemorated by several scientific names, including the genus Billardiera and the species Poa labillardieri of tussock grass. See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. ... Species Poa pratensis - Kentucky bluegrass Full List of Poa species Bluegrass refers to a genus of grasses, some of which look bluish when in flower. ...

References

• Edward Duyker, Citizen Labillardière: A Naturalist's Life in Revolution and Exploration, Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2003.