Career
He occupied an important official position in the French administration of Guadeloupe, but was devoted to natural history. In 1819 he was commissioned by the French government to survey the plants of South America. He sailed in 1820, and 1821 found him sketching coastal Virginia.
He had visited the United States mostly to see Philadelphia, the home of some early American naturalists and the headquarters of the American Philosophical Society.
Besides Virginia, Plée also made side trips to New York state and Canada. Between 1821 and 1823, he was sketching military installations, ports and towns in Puerto Rico.
After traveling extensively, and forming numerous collections of plants, he fell sick and returned to Martinique.
