[1]Antonio José Cavanilles (16 January 1745 – 5 May 1804) was a leading Spanish taxonomic botanist, artist and one of the most important figures in the 18th century period of Enlightenment in Spain.

Cavanilles is most famous for his 2-volume book on Spanish flora, published in 1795 and titled ‘Observations on the Natural History, Geography and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Valencia’.He named many plants, particularly from Oceania.

His return to Spain in 1789 marked the beginning of a rivalry with the director of the Madrid Botanical Gardens, Casimiro Gómez Ortega, and the botanist Hipólito Ruiz.

In 1791 he was ordered to travel throughout the peninsula to study its botanical wealth; and, starting in 1799, he collaborated on the newly created Anales de histoaria natural.

Cavanilles became a professor of botany at the University of Valencia and later joined the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, where he worked under the supervision of Casimiro Gómez Ortega.

During his official research into Spanish flora (starting his journey in Valencia) that Cavanilles made significant contributions to the field of medicine.

Mentorship Cavanilles mentored several notable botanists, including Simón de Roxas Clemente y Rubio, Mariano Lagasca (1776– 1839) and José Celestino Mutis, who went on to make significant contributions to the field of botany in their own right.

Cavanilles' work laid the foundation for modern botanical studies in Spain and had a lasting impact on the field of botany worldwide.