Description
Correspondence, manuscripts of his writings, and lists of plants relating to his work in acclimatizing plants in Santa Barbara,
and in maintaining a nursery of exotic plants. Some later correspondence for the Montarioso Nursery, Aug. 1913-1918, included.
Background
Born in Italy in 1843, Francesco Franceschi, a renowned botanist, obtained his doctorate from the University of Pisa in 1864. He began his work of plant acclimatization in Santa Barbara in 1893 when he established a nursery specializing in
the growing and propagating of exotic plants. This work entailed a worldwide correspondence, an exchange of seeds and specimens,
and a sharing of the results. At this time Dr. Franceschi compiled an inventory of foreign plants that had been introduced
into the area, entitled Santa Barbara Exotic Flora. The nursery was beset by various difficulties. A fire in 1904 destroyed
the propagating nursery and an unfortunate association with a landscape gardener, P. Riedel, led to a series of lawsuits, ending in dissolution of the partnership in 1909. Despite these setbacks, Dr. Franceschi managed
to a large degree to popularize in California the cultivation of avocados, bamboo, figs, the large Japanese persimmons, palm
trees, a ground cover named Lippia repens, some roses, cypress, asparagus and acacia.
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.