Medical and Oeconomical Botany. With numerous illustrations. Second edition.

Notes

A heavily annotated reprint of the third work forming a textbook series 'The Elements of Botany' by botanist John Lindley (1799-1865). Fascinated by horticulture from an early age, Lindley published his first botanical work 'Observations on the Structure of Fruits and Seeds' at twenty, and by thirty he had become the first ever professor of botany at the University of London. He favoured Jussieu's 'natural system', and 'he declared that botany should become a philosophical subject, using every aspect of anatomy and physiology to order plants in their natural families' (ODNB). American plant biologist Asa Gray (1810-1888) hailed his 'Introduction to the Natural System', saying 'No book, since printed bibles were sold in Paris by Dr Faustus, ever excited so much surprise and wonder' (ODNB).
The contemporary annotations comment upon the medicinal and culinary uses of plants, adding other species, common names, and observations of their characteristics, with the extra colour plates carefully inserted to correspond with the relevant entries.