born in paris as the son of botanist antoine laurent de jussieu, he received the degree of doctor of medicine in 1824 with a treatise of the plant family euphorbiaceae. when his father retired in 1826, he succeeded him at the jardin des plantes; in 1845 he became professor of organography of plants. he was also president of the french academy of sciences. de jussieu was elected a foreign honorary member of the american academy of arts and sciences in 1850.