Paul Auguste Hariot (1854 - 5 July 1917), the son of Louis Hariot (also a pharmacist), was a French pharmacist and noted
phycologist, best known for his 1900 publication
Atlas Colorié des Plantes Médicinales Indigènes] Hariot took up the position of botanical assistant at the
École Supérieure de Pharmacie in the late 1870s during his training in pharmacy in Paris. On qualifying in 1882, his rather quiet and studious life was changed by an invitation to accompany the botanist
Émile Bescherelle (1828-1903) on an expedition to
Cape Horn aboard the ship
La Romanche, a trip during which he amassed a fine collection of algae. On returning to France he studied natural sciences and was awarded a degree in 1888 whereupon he joined the
National Museum of Natural History in Paris, working in the cryptogamic herbarium under Professor
van Tieghem. Here he worked on classifying specimens that had been gathered by
Sébastien Vaillant (1669-1722), and those of the brothers
Edmond and
Charles Tulasne. He revised when necessary the taxonomy and systematics of the species described, and his name appears frequently as a second author for many species of algae. In 1890 he was awarded the
Prix Montagne by the Academy of Sciences for his monograph on terrestrial algae of the genus
Trentepohlia. He was awarded the
Prix Desmazières for 1913 for his work on marine flora.