Linnaeus’ Philosophia Botanica

Abstract 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, which illustrate 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 memoranda that 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 interested individuals, who will gain greater access to, and new insights into, the work of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern systematics.