Linnaeus' Philosophia Botanica

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations of modern biological systematics and nomenclature. Inspired by the work of his predecessors and contemporaries, Linnaeus was the first scientist to develop a coherent system for describing, classifying and naming organisms. The method he developed, known as binominal nomenclature, is the classification system still used in botany and zoology today.Philosophia Botanica was first published in 1751. Its publication followed that of several earlier works written by Linnaeus such as his Systema Naturae (1735) and Fundamenta Botanica (1736).Philosophia Botanica is an expanded version of Fundamenta Botanica with added commentary, and represents a critical stage in the evolution of Linnaeus' ideas and the development of his binominal nomenclature applied to plants. In this new translation of Philosophia Botanica, example pages from Linnaeus' original Latin text are presented alongside Stephen Freer's English translation of the complete text. The book contains images of all eleven of the original plates, whichillustrate the shapes of leaves and other plant structures and forms. Also included are Linnaeus' explanations of the effects of soil and climatic conditions on plant growth, plus six short memorandathat describe Linnaeus' botanical excursions, his ideas for garden lay-out and herbarium construction, and his thoughts on what was required of a botanist and his pupils. The Introduction, dedicated to the memory of Professor William Stearn is by Professor Paul Alan Cox of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens, Hawaii. This beautifully presented translation of Philosophia Botanica, is a valuable resource to botanists, taxonomists, r storians and all interestedindividuals, who will gain greater access to, and new insights into, the work of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern systematics.

“"We must be grateful to Stephen Freer and Oxford University Press for bringing us this excellent translation. I urge you not only to buy it but also to read it, because you will enjoy it." Alex S. George, Systematic Biology, Vol. 55, 2006”

Review from previous edition For his skilful translation Stephen Freer deserves our unstinted admiration and gratitude ... The book is also beautifully printed.'Archives of Natural HistoryStephen Freer is to be heartily congratulated for providing such a stylish and, for the first time, complete English translation of this most interesting volume.'Plant TalkAll in all this is a delightful and informative translation of a botanical classic...Anyone interested in the history of botany and in teaching botany will enjoy and benefit from reading this book. Plant Science Bulletin, Fall 2005, Vol.51, No.3.`The translation comes across as being straightforward and very readable. This translation is an important contribution to science and its history - while this material has been available in Latin for centuries, that limitation has kept Linnaeus' thoughts and ideas as presented in Philosophia Botanica restricted to a fairly small audience. This new version will be read and discussed by many more English readers in the modern scientific and scholarlycommunities now and in the future.'Charlotte Tancin, Huntia 12 (2), 2006

Stephen Freer is a fellow of the Linnean Society of London.

Philosophia Botanica (The Science of Botany), by Carl Linnaeus, was originally published in Latin in Stockholm and Amsterdam in 1751. It is a greatly expanded revision of his Fundamenta Botanica (Foundations of Botany) of 1736, summarizing his work on the classification and taxonomy of plants while adding substantial new material. The book represents a critical stage in the evolution of binomial nomenclature, with a single word to describe the genus and another for the species. Special importance is attached to accurate description of the parts of plants, and to the correct use of technical terms. There are also explanations of the effects of soil and climatic conditions on plant growth. The book includes 10 original engravings, with 167 figures showing the shapes of leaves and other parts of the plant, and 6 short memoranda describing Linnaeus' botanical excursions, detailing his ideas for garden and herbarium construction, and outlining what is required of a botanist and his pupils. There are also indexes of technical terms, genera, and subjects. The first full English translation of this classic work since 1775, this beautiful book will be highly attractive to botanists and all those interested in the history of science.

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