Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1761-1836), South... - Lot 48 - Conan Belleville Hôtel d'Ainay

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1761-1836), South African & Dutch botanist and mycologist, author of several reference books on fungi. L.A.S. to the Italian botanist Giuseppe Raddi (1770-1829). Paris, 18 March 1820. 4 pp. in-4. Address on verso "Mister Joseph Raddi - Very-famous Botanist Florence", with postmarks. Slight lack of paper due to a broken seal. Beautiful letter of mycology and cryptogamy. It acknowledges receipt of a parcel and "various memoirs which are a gold mine for the botanist who deals with plant cryptograms. Although our research is mainly directed towards hepatics and mosses". According to him, many species of fungi are still little known in Italy: "they now need to be described more extensively and precisely, and to be accompanied by better drawings and published in colour, but this will not happen so soon, and it will be necessary to find a young botanist who has all the leisure [...] and a particular taste for the study of fungi". He prefers, for the moment, to concentrate on large species "as opposed to those that are microscopic or very small" because they are "easy to preserve and find, for example, the Bolets, illustrated by Micheli Tab. 70, 61, 62, 63 [...]". It will be easier for you to give me a list of edible mushrooms used in Florence, with the vulgar names of the species already known, because I am in the process of publishing a new edition of my Treatise on Edible Mushrooms, which appeared here in 1818. "In a parcel he sent in the autumn to Dr. Bertero in Alba, he enclosed "Jungermannes des Vosges" but due to negligence the package was very late. "If you would like to have mosses from Germany and Switzerland, I'd be happy to send them to you.