Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (June 5, 1656 - December 28,1708) was a French botanist. His principal work was the 1694 El矇ments de botanique, ou M矇thode pour reconna簾tre les Plantes. The classification followed was completely artificial, and neglected some important divisions established by earlier botanists. Overall it was a step backwards in systematics, yet the text was so clearly written and well structured, and contained so much valuable information on individual species, that it became popular amongst botanists, and nearly all classifications published for the next fifty years were based upon it. He is often credited with being the first to make a clear distinction between genus and species. The botanist Charles Plumier had been his pupil and accompanied him on his voyages. In 1708, he was killed by a carriage in Paris. He was 52 years old. In his honor the road was peter renamed, Rue de Tournefort.