Born at Vully (Switzerland, canton of Vaud) in 1793. Gardener at the Jardin des Plantes, took part as naturalist on the expedition of Naval Captain P. H. Philibert on the Rhône and the Durance from 1819 to 1821. Gathered specimens at Cayenne, Réunion, Java, and the Philippines and returned to France by way of Cayenne. From 1824 to 1829, he was in charge of exploring Senegambia, alone or with F. R. Leprieur and J. F. Roger, and was administrator of the "Sénégalaise," a cultural establishment belonging to the government and a trading company. With the help of Jubelin he also explored Gorée and the peninsula of Cape Verde in 1829, before his return to France. He was named correspondent of the Museum in 1832. From 1834 to 1839, he was assigned to the Botanical Garden at Pondicherry. He returned to France in 1839 and became involved with silkworm culture. He returned to Pondicherry in 1843 as official botanist and remained there till his death on 3 January 1870. Author of numerous publications on botany. Brought back fishes from the East Indies and Senegal.