Cassiano Conzatti

Leaving Europe in the autumn of 1881 on the steamboat Atlantico, they became one of the first Italian speaking families to settle in Veracruz under the Mexican colonisation program sponsored by both governments.

His family having been settled in the colony 'Manuel González', Conzatti was not content to live an agrarian life and left for Jalapa, leaving his mother in the care of his two brothers.

Conzatti had started a botanical collection while in Italy and continued with this in Jalapa, creating a key to the phanerogamic families of Mexico which was published in 1889.

The naturalist Alfonso L. Herrera founded the Administration of Biological Sciences; Conzatti worked in the organisation, making use of its large library and botanic garden to further his studies.

While Conzatti never received a formal botanical training, his interest and dedication led to a thorough knowledge of Mexican plants and major contributions to botany.