Pierfelice Ravenna

Pierfelice Ravenna was a Chilean botanist of Italian Jewish origin. His research interests were mainly in the field of South American Amaryllidaceae, Alstromeriaceae and Iridaceae.

Selected publications

1970a. Nuevas especies de Amaryllidaceae. Notic. Mens. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. Santiago 269 : 1-7
1970b. Contributions to South American Amaryllidaceae III. Pl. Life 37: 73–103, figs. 18-25
1972. Latin American Amaryllidis 1971. Pl. Life 28: 119–127, figs. 28-30
1974. Contributions to South American Amaryllidaceae VI. Pl. Life 30: 29-79
1978. Studies in the Alliaceae‑II . Pl. Life 34 : 3-10
1983. Catila and Onira, two new genera of South American Iridaceae. Nordic Journal of Botany 3 : 197-205
1988. New species of South American Habranthus and Zephyranthes . Onira 1 : 53-56
2000a. New or noteworthy Leucocoryne species . Onira 4 : 3-10
2000b. The family Gilliesiaceae. Onira 4 : 11-14
2000c. Miersia scalae, a synonym of Gilliesia monophylla . Onira 4 :30
2003b. Los subgéneros de Leucocoryne y la ilegitimidad de Pabellonia .
2005a. Gilliesia dimera and Gilliesia isopetala two new species from central Chile . Onira 9 : 60-63
2005b. Solaria brevicoalita and S. curacavina two Chilean species of Gilliesiaceae. Onira 9 : 64-67
2005c. On the absence of the genus Gilliesia in the Argentine flora. Onira 9 : 59
2005d. Especies nuevas de Gilliesia y Solaria y claves para el reconocimiento de las especies de ambos géneros.

Awards

Ravenna was awarded The Herbert Medal in 1974.

Legacy

The International Plant Names Index lists 1,741 taxa for which Ravenna is the botanical authority. Another paper counted and listed 1025 names published by Ravenna, 681 of which were newly described at the species or infraspecific level. Although some of his herbarium specimens are deposited at international herbaria, his own personal herbarium including many type specimens was destroyed.