Philippe André de Vilmorin - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pierre-Philippe-André Levêque de Vilmorin (November 30, 1776 - March 21, 1862), more commonly known as Philippe André de Vilmorin, was a notable French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

horticulturist

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

.

Vilmorin was the oldest son of Philippe-Victoire Levêque de Vilmorin (1746-1804), founder of a commercial agricultural establishment, studied at the college of Pont-le-Voy and subsequently Paris, and became the company's head upon his father's death. His travels to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

in 1810, 1814, and 1816 allowed him to see first-hand the advances in English plant cultivation for horticulture

Horticulture

and agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, and furthered his active interest in cereal

Cereal

Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...

s, vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

s, forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

, and ornamental and exotic plants. The London Society of Horticulture presented him with its grand medal in 1814 for his numerous articles on these subjects.

In 1815 Vilmorin established Vilmorin-Andrieux et Cie, which ultimately became one of the world's leading suppliers of plants, and acquired a former hunting lodge of Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

just outside Paris, which he developed into the Arboretum Vilmorin

Arboretum Vilmorin

The Arboretum Vilmorin is a private arboretum located at 2 rue d'Estienne d'Orves, Verrières-le-Buisson, Essonne, Île-de-France, France. It is open by appointment only...

. In 1821 he purchased the Domaine des Barres (283 hectares), upon which he created an experimental forest, parts of which have now become the Arboretum national des Barres

Arboretum national des Barres

The Arboretum national des Barres is a national arboretum located in Nogent-sur-Vernisson, Loiret, Centre, France. It is open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged....

. Vilmorin died at Barres on March 21, 1862.

See also