Sebastián Vidal y Soler (Barcelona, April 1, 1842 – Manila, July 28, 1889) was a Spanish forester and botanist.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Sebastián Vidal
Thumb
Statue of Vidal in Manila
Born(1842-04-01)1 April 1842
Died28 July 1889(1889-07-28) (aged 47)[1]
Scientific career
FieldsBotany, Forestry
Academic advisorsMáximo Laguna
Author abbrev. (botany)S.Vidal
Close

Sebastián Vidal and his lesser known brother, Domingo, studied at the Spanish forestry school. In the 1870s they both took up posts in the forestry service of the Philippines, which was a Spanish colonial possession.

Sebastián Vidal had a particular interest in woody plants, but studied Malesian flora in general, collecting specimens, collaborating with other botanists, and publishing a number of works including Revision de Plantas Vasculares Filipinas (Manila 1886).[3]

In 1883 he was back in Europe and visited herbaria there including that of Kew.[4]

Vidal served as director of the Botanical Garden of Manila from 1878 until his death in 1889 from cholera.[5] A statue of Vidal by Enric Clarasó was erected in the Garden, although it no longer survives.

Honours

In 1887 a Philippines Exposition was organised in Madrid. There was a section devoted to Geografía botánica del Archipiélago, su flora, la forestal y fauna ('Botanical geography of the Archipelago, its flora, forest and fauna'). Plants were exhibited at the newly constructed Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro Park. For his contribution, Vidal received the honour of entry into the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Plant specimens

Although the herbarium in Manila was destroyed in a fire in 1897, some of Vidal's specimens of Philippine flora are preserved in Europe to this day, at Kew,[6] where he collaborated with Robert Allen Rolfe, and at Madrid's Real Jardín Botánico, where, since Vidal's death Benjamín Máximo Laguna and later scholars have worked on them.[7][5]

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.