Jules Émile Planchon was a 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...

 botanist born in Ganges, Hérault

Ganges, Hérault

Ganges is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.-Location:Ganges is situated at the confuence of the Hérault and Rieutord rivers.-History:...

.

Biography

After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the University of Montpellier

University of Montpellier

The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...

 in 1844, he worked for a while at the Royal Botanical Gardens

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

 in London, and for a few years was a teacher in Nancy and Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

. In 1853 he became head of Department of Botanical Sciences at Montpellier

Montpellier

-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....

 University, where he remained for the remainder of his career. Planchon was highly regarded in scientific circles, and made several contributions concerning the classification of botanical species and varieties.

Planchon is remembered for his work in saving the French grape vineyards from Phylloxera vastatrix, a microscopic, yellow aphid

Aphid

Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...

-like pest that was an exotic species from the United States. He did this with assistance from French botanist Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet

Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet

Pierre-Marie-Alexis Millardet was a French botanist and mycologist born in Montmirey-la-Ville.He was a student at the Universities of Heidelberg and Freiberg, and later became a professor of botany at the Universities of Strasbourg , Nancy , and Bordeaux .Millardet is chiefly remembered for his...

 and American entomologist Charles Valentine Riley

Charles Valentine Riley

Charles Valentine Riley was a British-born American entomologist and artist.-Early Life:The son of a Church of England minister, Charles Valentine Riley was born on 19 September, 1843 in London’s Chelsea district. When he was around eleven his parents, the Rev. Charles and Mary Riley, chose to...

. The solution involved introduction of American grapevines {Vitis riparia

Vitis riparia

Vitis riparia Michx, also commonly known as River Bank Grape or Frost Grape, is a native American climbing or trailing vine, widely distributed from Quebec to Texas, and Montana to New England. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees...

and Vitis rupestris

Vitis rupestris

Vitis rupestris is a kind of grape native to the Southern and Western United States that is known by many common names including July, sand, sugar, beach, bush, currant, ingar, rock, and mountain grape. It is used for breeding several French-American hybrids as well as many root stocks. ...

} to France for grafting purposes, making the plants resistant to Phylloxera.

Writings about Jules Planchon

• The Botanist and the Vintner; How Wine Was Saved for the World, By Christy Campbell