Richard Émile Augustin de Candolle (8 December 1868, Walton-on-Thames – 4 May 1920, Vallon) was a Swiss botanist and was British consul to the Canton of Geneva between 1912 and 1918.

[2] Having initially studied in Geneva, he was sent to England because of the maternal family connections and, in 1883, was sent to Rugby School where he remained until 1887.

Despite this he was always oriented towards botany, and, returning to Geneva, he vowed to continue the botanical family dynasty.

He made a study of the east Madagascan collection of Emile Mocquerys, publishing several descriptions of new species in conjunction with colleagues.

The death of his father in 1918, and the end of war prompted him to resign from the consulate and he was set to continue his botanic career with renewed vigour.