Paléobotanique et palynologie en France: aperçu historique [Palaeobotany and palynology in France: a historical review]

A brief historical account is given of the development of the various branches of palaeobotany and palynology in France. The founder of palaeobotany in this country was Adolphe Brongniart (1801–1876). In later years the history of this scientific field was marked by well-known naturalists, such as C. Grand’Eury, R. Zeiller, B. Renault and Paul Bertrand. Palynology is an old scientific discipline, since the first published contribution in this field was made by Cl. J. Geoffroy le Jeune as long ago as 1711. However, the modern development of palynology in France dates only from the post-World War II period. With the exception of, particularly, G. Dubois and G. Deflandre, comparatively very little palynological work was done before 1940.