Species Plantarum

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The Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today. It achieved this distinction because:

it contained all plants then known.
it allowed easy identification of plants, by putting every genus in an artificial class and order. By counting pistils and stamens, anybody, even without much knowledge of plants, was able to get to a listing of genera that the plant in question should belong to.
it gave a two-part name (binary name) to every plant species listed, thus separating nomenclature from taxonomy.

After its first edition this work went through many editions (ever expanding), continuing well after the death of its original author. It also marks the starting point of a great upsurge in the popularity of Science, and arguably is the most important publication in biology ever.

External link

[Species Plantarum] online at [gallica]

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