 Cover page of first edition | |
| Author | Carl Linnaeus |
|---|---|
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Latin |
| Subject | Botany |
| Published | Laurentius Salvius (1 May 1753) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | xi, 1200 + xxxi |
| OCLC | 186272535 |
Species Plantarum (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the starting point for the naming of plants.
Species Plantarum [Note 1] was published on 1 May 1753 by Laurentius Salvius in Stockholm, in two volumes. [1] [2] [Note 2] A second edition was published in 1762–1763, [1] and a third edition in 1764, although this "scarcely differed" from the second. [4] Further editions were published after Linnaeus' death in 1778, under the direction of Karl Ludwig Willdenow, the director of the Berlin Botanical Garden; the fifth edition (1800) was published in four volumes. [5]
Species Plantarum was the first botanical work to consistently apply the binomial nomenclature system of naming to any large group of organisms (Linnaeus' tenth edition of Systema Naturae would apply the same technique to animals for the first time in 1758). Prior to this work, a plant species would be known by a long polynomial, such as Plantago foliis ovato-lanceolatis pubescentibus, spica cylindrica, scapo tereti (meaning "plantain with pubescent ovate-lanceolate leaves, a cylindrical spike and a terete scape") [6] or Nepeta floribus interrupte spicatis pedunculatis (meaning "Nepeta with flowers in a stalked, interrupted spike"). [7] In Species Plantarum, these cumbersome names were replaced with two-part names, consisting of a single-word genus name, and a single-word specific epithet or "trivial name"; the two examples above became Plantago media and Nepeta cataria , respectively. [6] [7] The use of binomial names had originally been developed as a kind of shorthand in a student project about the plants eaten by cattle. [8]
After the specific epithet, Linnaeus gave a short description of each species, and a synonymy. The descriptions were careful and terse, consisting of few words in small genera; in Glycyrrhiza , for instance, the three species ( Glycyrrhiza echinata , Glycyrrhiza glabra and "Glycyrrhiza hirsuta", [Note 3] respectively) were described as "leguminibus echinatis", "leguminibus glabris" and "leguminibus hirsutis". [10]
Because it is the first work in which binomial nomenclature was consistently applied, Species Plantarum was chosen as the "starting point" for the nomenclature of most plants (the nomenclature of some non-vascular plants and all fungi uses later starting points). [6]
Species Plantarum contained descriptions of the thousands of plant species known to Linnaeus at the time. In the first edition, there were 5,940 names, from Acalypha australis to Zygophyllum spinosum . [11] In his introduction, Linnaeus estimated that there were fewer than 10,000 plant species in existence; [12] there are now thought to be around 400,000 species of flowering plants alone. [13]
The species were arranged in around a thousand genera, which were grouped into 24 classes, according to Linnaeus' sexual system of classification. [14] There are no descriptions of the genera in Species Plantarum; these are supplied in the companion volume Genera Plantarum ("the genera of plants"), the fifth edition of which was printed at a similar time to the first edition of Species Plantarum. [10] Linnaeus acknowledged his "sexual system" was an artificial system, rather than one which accurately reflects shared ancestry, [14] but the system's simplicity made it easier for non-specialists to rapidly find the correct class, being based on simple counts of floral parts such as stigmas and stamens. [1]
Rhaponticum repens, synonym Acroptilon repens, with the common name Russian knapweed, is a bushy rhizomatous perennial, up to 80 cm tall. Stems and leaves are finely arachnoid-tomentose becoming glabrous and green with age. The rosette leaves are oblanceolate, pinnately lobed to entire, 2–3 cm wide by 3–8 cm long. The lower cauline leaves are smaller, pinnately lobed; the upper leaves become much reduced, sessile, serrate to entire. The heads are numerous terminating the branches. Flowers are pink to purplish, the marginal ones not enlarged. The outer and middle involucral bracts are broad, striate, smooth with broadly rounded tips; the inner bracts are narrower with hairy tips. Pappus present with bristles 6–11 mm long. Fruit is a whitish, slightly ridged achene.
Crassula is a genus of succulent plants containing about 200 accepted species, including the popular jade plant. They are members of the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae) and are native to many parts of the globe, but cultivated varieties originate almost exclusively from species from the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Savia is a genus of the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1806. It is native to the West Indies, the Florida Keys, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Nauclea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. The species are evergreen trees or shrubs that are native to the paleotropics. The terminal vegetative buds are usually strongly flattened. The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek words naus, meaning "ship" and kleio, meaning "to close". It refers to the resemblance of the cells of the capsule to a ship's hull.
Picris hieracioides, or hawkweed oxtongue, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
Guettarda is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. Most of these plants are known by the common name velvetseed. Estimates of the number of species range from about 50 to 162. Most of the species are neotropical. Twenty are found in New Caledonia and one reaches Australia. A few others are found on islands and in coastal areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Micranthes nivalis is a plant species in the saxifrage family. It is commonly called snow saxifrage or (ambiguously) alpine saxifrage.
Subularia is a genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. Subularia species are annual herbs that grow in moist or even flooded soils. There are only two species of the genus: Subularia aquatica, which is widespread in North America and Europe; and Subularia monticola, from Africa mountains. Awlwort is a common name for plants in this genus.
Rumex patientia, known as patience dock, garden patience, herb patience, or monk's rhubarb, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant belonging to the family Polygonaceae. In spring it is often consumed as a leaf vegetable and as a filling in pies in Southern Europe, especially in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is also used in Romania in spring broths or sarmale.
Avicennia officinalis is a species of mangrove also known as Indian mangrove. The genus Avicennia is named after the famous Persian scientist Ibn Sina.
Aegopogon is a genus of New World plants in the grass family.
Elionurus is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and Neotropical plants in the grass family.
Asplenium viride is a species of fern known as the green spleenwort because of its green stipes and rachides. This feature easily distinguishes it from the very similar-looking maidenhair spleenwort, Asplenium trichomanes.
Asperula tinctoria, common name dyer's woodruff, is a plant in the family Rubiaceae, a native of much of northern and central Europe from France to Russia and also of Western Siberia.
Ceropegia candelabrum is the type species in its genus of plants, belonging the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. The Latin specific epithet candelabrum is derived from the candelabra-like appearance of the inflorescences.
Crassula perfoliata is the type species of the genus Crassula, in the flowering plant family Crassulaceae, where it is placed in the subfamily Crassuloideae. It was first formally described by Linnaeus in 1753 as one of 10 species of Crassula. It is from South Africa.
Alstroemeria pelegrina, the Peruvian lily, is a species of flowering plant in the large genus Alstroemeria of the family Alstroemeriaceae (Inca-lilies), part of the monocot order Liliales. It is the type-species of that genus, originally described by Linnaeus in 1762 as one of three species of Alstroemeria. It is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial endemic to Chile.
Euphorbia hypericifolia is a species of perennial herb in the genus Euphorbia native to tropical Americas. It can grow up to 2 feet (0.6 m) in height, and contains milky sap which can cause skin and eye irritation.
Scilla lilio-hyacinthus, the Pyrenean squill, is a species of flowering plant plant in the genus Scilla.
Scilla amoena, the star hyacinth or squill, is a species of flowering plant plant in the genus Scilla.
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