Louis-Marcel Raymond

Louis-Marcel Raymond

Louis-Marcel Raymond, botanist, man of letters (b at St-Jean, Qué 2 Dec 1915; d at Montréal 23 Aug 1972). He was a disciple and co-worker of Brother MARIE-VICTORIN at the Jardin Botanique in Montréal, and the literary quality of his scientific writing made it enjoyable to people outside the scientific community. Educated at U de M, he worked at the Jardin Botanique from 1943 until his retirement in 1970 at age 54. He wrote at least 240 scientific works and another 500 literary articles. His Esquisse phytogéographique du Québec (1950) is the only provincial phytogeographical study and was for 25 years the principal work on the subject. His treatises on the Cypraceae (the sedge family) of different countries are basic reference works. For the last 2 years of his life he worked on a botanical history of Canada. Raymond was interested in reintroducing poetry into theatre, and his Le Jeu retrouvé (1943) is a panorama of French history between the world wars.