Charles de l'Ecluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius, seigneur de Watenes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists.
17 Facts About Carolus Clusius
2.
Carolus Clusius died in Leiden in the Netherlands in 1609, at the age of 83.
3.
Carolus Clusius was invited to join the Accademia dei Lincei as a corresponding member in 1604, but declined.
4.
Carolus Clusius traveled extensively throughout Europe, furthering his knowledge of plants.
5.
Carolus Clusius was among the first to study the flora of Austria, under the auspices of Maximilian II.
6.
Carolus Clusius was the first botanist to climb the Otscher and the Schneeberg in Lower Austria, which was the first documented ascent of the latter.
7.
Carolus Clusius's illustrated works form an important chapter in sixteenth century natural history, producing a large body of drawing and watercolours.
8.
Carolus Clusius was responsible for the cultivation of a number of plants, new to Europe, including the tulip, potato, and horse chestnut.
9.
Carolus Clusius was widely influential in European science and culture and his circle of correspondents included princes and aristocrats such as Wilhelm IV of Hessen-Kassel and Princesse Marie de Brimeu, who was one of his most frequent correspondents.
10.
Carolus Clusius laid the foundations of Dutch tulip breeding and the bulb industry today.
11.
The great botanists of the sixteenth century were all, like Carolus Clusius, originally trained as physicians, who pursued a knowledge of plants not just for medicinal properties, but in their own right.
12.
Carolus Clusius' influence was a key factor in all these developments with his pioneering and influential publications, and introduction of hitherto unknown exotic plants to the Low Countries.
13.
Carolus Clusius is considered one of the most eminent botanists of the European Renaissance, and his influence on tulip breeding continues to the present day.
14.
Carolus Clusius's first publication was a French translation of Rembert Dodoens's herbal, "Histoire des Plantes", published in Antwerp in 1557 by van der Loe.
15.
Carolus Clusius' collected works were published in two parts: Rariorum plantarum historia contains his Spanish and Austrian flora and adds more information about new plants as well as a pioneering mycological study on mushrooms from Central Europe ; and Exoticorum libri decem is an important survey of exotic flora and fauna, both still often consulted.
16.
Carolus Clusius contributed as well to Abraham Ortelius's map of Spain.
17.
Carolus Clusius's work formed an important step in the development of modern botany.