L'Ecluse, Charles de (1525-1609)

French botanist who published one of the earliest known books on Spanish flora. He translated botanical works, and wrote Rariorum Aliquot Stirpium per Hispanias Observatarum Historia in 1576, a description of his observations of rare flora in Spain during an expedition (1564-65).

L'Ecluse was born in Arras, France to a wealthy family in which it was the tradition to study law. This he dutifully did and obtained his licence to practice law in 1548 from the University of Louvain. However, from childhood onwards he had expressed a great interest in plant life and, in 1551, persuaded his father to let him go to Provence in southern France to collect botanical specimens for a local dignitary, Guillaume Roudelet. This led to him translating botanical works, and also completing his own original works.

He was appointed professor of botany at the University of Leiden in 1593. He was delighted to hold this post because the University was rapidly becoming known as a centre for science and medicine as well as theology and the classics. He continued to work in Leiden until his death at the age of 84.