Juan Diego del Castillo facts for kids
Juan Diego del Castillo (1744–1793) was a Spanish pharmacist and botanist. A pharmacist prepares and sells medicines. A botanist studies plants. Castillo joined another important botanist, Vicente Cervantes, in Mexico. He wrote a book called Plantas descritas en el viaje de Acapulco. Castillo died in Mexico.
Early Life and Work
Juan Diego del Castillo lived at the same time as Martín Sessé y Lacasta. Lacasta was also a famous botanist. In New Spain (which is now Mexico), Lacasta worked with a group of Spanish botanists. These scientists were chosen by Casimiro Gómez Ortega. He was the director of the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid in Spain.
Journey to New Spain
The group of botanists included Cervantes, José Longinos Martínez, and Del Castillo. They traveled to New Spain to study its plants. This was an important journey for science. They wanted to discover and describe new plant species.
Contributions to Botany
Del Castillo helped a lot with their work. He left a large amount of money to help print their planned book. This book was called Flora Mexicana. It was meant to be a big collection of all the plants they found in Mexico.
A Plant Named After Him
To honor Juan Diego del Castillo, Vicente Cervantes named a plant group after him. This group of plants is called Castilla. It is a type of rubber tree. Naming a plant genus after someone is a special way to remember their contributions to science.
