Species Dombeya delilei

For Joseph Dombey (1742–1794), French botanist, physician, naturalist and traveller with Spanish botanists Hipólito Ruiz and José Pavón in Chile and Peru. He gathered much valuable information relating to the cinchona plant from which quinine was derived. His special interest was spermatophytes. He authored Flore Péruvienne, L’Herbier de Dombey explique, and Observations de Dombey faites au Chili et au Pérou, all of which were published posthumously. His career was sullied by misfortune such as his collections being captured by the British (specimens sent to the British Museum) or confiscated by zealous officials. In 1793 he undertook a mission to the United States but never arrived there as a result of a storm. Eventually, he was captured by British privateers and imprisoned for ransom at the British colony in Montserrat, West Indies, where he died. His main work and collection is housed in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris.