Paolo Boccone

Paolo Silvio Boccone (1633-1704) was a Sicilian botanist whose interest in plants had been sparked by the botanical gardens (l'Orto Botanico) founded in Messina by the Roman doctor Pietro Castelli, who became his instructor. Born in Palermo, he traveled across Sicily, Corsica, Paris, and London and later became a lecturer in Padua. He published Recherches et observations naturelles (Paris, 1671), which concerned itself with various theories of nature, and supplied important contributions to the fields of medicine and toxicology.

Named after Boccone

• The genus Bocconia
• Spergularia bocconi (Spergularia genus)