João de Loureiro

Homalium cochinchinensis (Lour.) Druce, first described by de Loureiro as Astranthus cochinchinensis Lour.

João de Loureiro (1717, Lisbon – October 1791) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and botanist.

After receiving admission to the Jesuit Order, he served as a missionary in Goa (3 years) and Macau (4 years). In 1742 he traveled to Cochinchina, remaining there for 35 years. Here he worked as a mathematician and naturalist, acquiring knowledge on the properties and uses of native medicinal plants. In 1777 he journeyed to Canton, returning to Lisbon four years later.^[1]

In 1790 he published a work on flora of Cochinchina titled Flora Cochinchinensis.^[2]

Books about João de Loureiro

• Pe. João de Loureiro : missionãrio e botãnico by José Maria Braga, 1938.^[3]

References

1. JSTOR, Loureiro and his botanical work by E.D. Merrill Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 72, No. 4 (Apr., 1933), pp. 229-239
2. Google Books Flora Cochinchinensis
3. WorldCat Titles Pe. João de Loureiro, etc.
4. "Author Query for 'Lour.'". International Plant Names Index.