Philippe Morat (born 19 January 1937, in Saigon) is a researcher mainly in the field of tropical botany.
Agricultural engineer from the Ecole nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse, he was admitted to the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) in 1960 in the tropical botany section where he remained until 1986, successively in charge, master then research director during his assignments in Madagascar (12 years) and New Caledonia (9 years[1]).
After obtaining a PhD from the University of Paris-Sud in 1972 on the origin of the savannas of south-western Madagascar,[2] he turned his attention to taxonomy[3] and phytogeography.
[2] Highlighting of their floristic affinities and the establishment of their vegetation and flora in relation to their geological history.
[6] Development of a GIS and an evolving taxonomic reference system in the form of a database that has been widely used to date.