The anonymous Almanach de flore: the garden of Malmaison in decline

Lack, H.W. & K. Böhme (2025). The anonymous Almanach de flore: the garden of Malmaison in decline. Candollea 80: 7–19. In English, English abstract. The Almanach de flore is an exceedingly rare print which has escaped the attention of the bibliographers of taxonomic literature. Published in Paris in two issues in 1817 and 1818, it contains among others the description and illustration of sixteen plants in cultivation in the garden of Malmaison, which was owned at that time by Napoleon's adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais. No author is given in this volume in duodecimo but evidence is presented that Étienne Soulange-Bodin, the intendant of Malmaison at the time, is most likely to have written the botanical texts. The twelve illustrations are colour prints, five of which are based on watercolours by Pancrace Bessa. Among the sixteen species described, a single one, Erica tamnoides Soul.-Bod. (Ericaceae), had his name validated in the Almanach de flore; it is regarded as a later synonym for E. fastigiata L. The spectrum of plants dealt with in this book adds significantly to our knowledge of the inventory of the garden at Malmaison which was then in decline and later given up and sold. Received: May 15, 2024; Accepted: January 23, 2025; First published online: February 26, 2025