● BOTANICAL ● PEACE ● MAKERS ●

BHL Collections: New York Botanical Garden

Hortus Romanus juxta Systema Tournefortianum (1783-1816) Giorgio Bonelli

Internet Archive Book Images Image from page 17 of “Contributions from the New York Botanical Garden” (1899-) https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages

Grew is remembered for his detailed descriptions of plant anatomy and with him we see the beginning of modern comparative anatomy. He was guided by the idea that there may be similarities of function between animals and plants and this led him to look for equivalent organs in each. He thus believed in the circulation of sap, on analogy with William Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of blood in animals, and he believed in a form of respiration in plants. Although the recognition of plant sexuality was old, Grew is remembered for noting the stamen as the male organ of the plant and pollen as seed. He also noted the prevalence of little bladders, or “cells” as Hooke had coined the term, especially in the parenchyma tissue (a term we have retained from Grew). Many of Grew’s observations were diachronic, putting emphasis on the development of the plant and its structures. The growth of a plant he deemed to be a function of sap circulating through the tissue, carrying and adding material to the plant. His observations on the bud of the flower revealed the complicated folding of the unexpanded leaves, something that had not been previously seen with the naked eye.

The tree can propagate by roots to form large groves. Quiet, breezy days in such groves can sound like a great rain stick sounding in all directions.

Juniper, 1745, Georg Dionysius Ehret. Gouache and graphite on vellum. The J. Paul Getty Museum

Botanical illustrations by Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522 — 1605)