Henri Lecoq (18 April 1802 – 4 August 1871) was a French botanist. Charles Darwin mentioned this name in 1859 in the preface of his famous book On The Origin of Species as a believer in the modification of species. Darwin wrote:On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin; Preface to the first edition by the writer himself; taken from literature.org.
The work referenced by Darwin is Lecoq's Étude de la Géographie Botanique de l'Europe, published in 1854.
A number of plants carry the name of Lecoq in their descriptive names (see IPNI search). Also in 1829, botanist DC. published Lecokia, a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apiaceae with its name honouring him.
In addition a museum in his home town of Clermont Ferrand (France) is named after him.
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