Joseph-Henri Léveillé was a French physician and mycologist who was a native of Crux-la-Ville

Crux-la-Ville

Crux-la-Ville is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-Demographics:At the 1999 census, the population was 453. On 1 January 2006, the estimate was 415.-References:*...

, in the department of Nièvre

Nièvre

Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

.

Léveillé studied medicine and mycology

Mycology

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans as a source for tinder, medicinals , food and entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or...

 at the University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

, and in 1824 received his medical doctorate. In his 1837 paper Sur le hymenium des champignons, he was the first to provide a comprehensive description of the basidium

Basidium

thumb|right|500px|Schematic showing a basidiomycete mushroom, gill structure, and spore-bearing basidia on the gill margins.A basidium is a microscopic, spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of fruiting bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main...

 and cystidium

Cystidium

A cystidium is a relatively large cell found on the hymenium of a basidiomycete , often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are often unique to a particular species or genus, they are a useful micromorphological characteristic in the...

 of basidiomycete fungi. Other noted works by Léveillé include:

• Memoire sur le genre Sclerotium (1843)
• Considérations mycologiques, suivies d'une nouvelle classification des champignons (1846)
• Iconographie des Champignons de Paulet (1855)