Sebastián Vidal y Soler

Sebastián Vidal y Soler (Barcelona, April 1, 1842 – Manila, July 28, 1889) was a Spanish forester and botanist.

Sebastián was born in Barcelona to Domènec Vidal i Balaguer and Peronella Soler i Rovirosa. He and his lesser-known older brother, Domingo, studied at the Spanish forestry school. In the 1870s they both took up posts in the forestry service of the Philippines, which was a Spanish colonial possession.

Sebastián Vidal had a particular interest in woody plants, but studied Malesian flora in general, collecting specimens, collaborating with other botanists, and publishing a number of works including Revisión de Plantas Vasculares Filipinas (Manila 1886).

He was able to make more than one trip back to Spain. His 1874 publication Memoria sobre el ramo de montes en las islas Filipinas appears to refer to a trip caused by health problems. In 1883 he took advantage of being in Europe to visit herbaria there including that of Kew.

Vidal served as director of the Botanical Garden of Manila (now Mehan garden) from 1878 until his death in 1889 from cholera. A statue of Vidal by Enric Clarasó was erected in the Garden, although it no longer exists.

Honours In 1887 a Philippines Exposition was organised in Madrid. There was a section devoted to Geografía botánica del Archipiélago, su flora, la forestal y fauna ('Botanical geography of the Archipelago, its flora, forest and fauna'). Plants were exhibited at the newly constructed Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro Park. For his contribution, Vidal received the honour of entry into the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

Plant specimens Although the herbarium in Manila was destroyed in a fire in 1897, some of Vidal's specimens of Philippine flora are preserved in Europe to this day, at Kew, where he collaborated with Robert Allen Rolfe, and at Madrid's Real Jardín Botánico, where, since Vidal's death Benjamín Máximo Laguna and later scholars have worked on them.