ALEXIS JORDAN. — Naturalist, self-taught, French botanist, born in Lyons in 1814, died there in 1897. He is known for his discovery that the Linnaean “species” is composed of “small species” or elementary species, called in his honor jordanons by Lotys. This discovery, which was championed by De Vries, is one of the scientific achievements that has most influenced the conception of the variability of species.
J. was opposed to transformism for reasons both religious and scientific. His is the expression: “religious tradition must serve the researcher as a compass for judging the accuracy of his discoveries.”
Among his works: De l'origine des diverses variétés ou espèces d'arbres fruitiers, Paris 1853; Icones ad florem Europae novo fundamento instaurandam spectantes, (in collaboration with J. Fourreau, 3 vols., ibid. 1866-1903).