Giovanni Arcangeli was an Italian botanist from Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

.

In 1862 he earned his degree in natural sciences from the University of Pisa

University of Pisa

The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...

, where he later became an instructor and professor. In 1880 he was a professor of botany at the University of Turin

University of Turin

The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...

, and in 1882 was appointed director of the Botanical Garden of Pisa.

In 1882 Arcangeli published his best known work, a highly regarded compendium

Compendium

A compendium is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge. A compendium may summarize a larger work. In most cases the body of knowledge will concern some delimited field of human interest or endeavour , while a "universal" encyclopedia can be referred to as a compendium of...

 of Italian flora titled Compendio della flora italiana. The plant genus Arcangelisia from the family Menispermaceae

Menispermaceae

Menispermaceae, the botanical name for a family of flowering plants, has been universally recognized by taxonomists. Tubocurare, a neuromuscular blocker and active ingredient in curare, is derived from plants of this family....

is named in his honor.