De Plantis Libri XVI
De Plantis Libri XVI is the title of a work by Andrea Cesalpino in which for the first time a classification system of the plant was set up.
plant
The first and only edition appeared in 1583 under the full title De plantis libri XVI. Andreae Caesalpini Aretini, medici clarissimi, doctissimiq [ue] atque philosophi celeberrimi, ac subtilissimi Ad serenissimum Franciscum Medicem, Magnum Aetruriae Ducem in Florence with Giorgio Marescotti.
The edition is dedicated to Francesco de Medici and, in contrast to the herbal books customary at the time, contains no illustrations.
The work was supplemented by an appendix entitled Appendix ad libros de plantis et quaestiones peripateticas , which was published in Rome in 1603 .
introduction
Cesalpino based his systematics on the philosophical principles of Aristotle . He assumed that random properties, such as the medicinal properties, should not be used to classify the plants, but those that result from the nature of the plants. He recognized this being in the variety of forms of plants and based his subdivision of the plant kingdom on the shape of essential parts of the plants.
The uppermost subdivision (its " classes ") was based on the root or the germ , through whose various developments the genera would arise. He divided the genera themselves according to the structure and the number of seeds and fruits .
Its genera did not yet have their own names.
Carl von Linné called him the “first true systematist” and wrote: “I particularly like him, as do his short descriptions, which distinguish him from all the others, but he always has something of his own”. Andrea Cesalpino's analysis of the systematics in Classis Plantarum led Linné to 821 species . Linné later adopted many of the plant names listed by Cesalpino as generic names.
Systematics
Cesalpino retained the basic division of plants into " woody plants " and " herbs " used by Aristotle . He divided these two groups on the basis of the internal structure of the fruit and the seeds contained in them. For a finer subdivision, he finally used other morphological features such as the shape of the flower or the type of roots.
The following table provides an overview of the system used by Cesalpino. Linné took over the generic names given as examples from Cesalpino without any correction. If there is no corresponding genus, another genus (with round brackets) is indicated. The Roman numerals refer to the number of the respective book by De plantis .
structure
De Plantis consists of 16 books. After the dedication and the index of the species, the basics of its systematics are described in the first book ( Liber I ). Books II and III describe the species that are counted among the "woody plants", books IV to XV are dedicated to "herbs". The last book ( Liber XVI ) deals with the seedless plants.
The books are in turn divided into chapters in which the individual species are described. The first chapter contains an introduction to the treated plants.
Dedication
Index Locupletissimus Plantarum Nominum
Liber I
De Arboribus
- Liber Secundus (52 chapters, I – LII, pp. 31–86)
- Liber Tertius (64 chapters, I – LXIIII, pp. 87–146)
De Suffruticibus et Herbis
- Liber Quartus (70 chapters, I – LXX, pp. 147–195)
- Liber Quintus (40 chapters, I – XXXIX, pp. 196–229)
- Liber Sextus (80 chapters, I – LXXX, pp. 230–274)
- Liber Septimtus (60 chapters, I – LX, pp. 275–317)
- Liber Octavus (84 chapters, I – LXXXIIII, pp. 318–370)
- Liber Nonus (46 chapters, I – XLVI, pp. 371–397)
- Liber Decimus (49 chapters, I – XLIX, pp. 398–431)
- Liber Undecimus (64 chapters, I – LXIIII, pp. 432–475)
- Liber Duodecimus (43 chapters, I – XLIII, pp. 476–505)
- Liber Tertiusdecimus (60 chapters, I – LX, pp. 506–542)
- Liber Quartusdecimus (Chapter 36, I – XXXVI, pp. 543–563)
- Liber Quintusdecimus (38 chapters, I – XXXVIII, pp. 564–590)
- Liber Sextusdecimus (54 chapters, I – LIV, pp. 591–621)
Index Secundum Paginas
pads
- 1st edition, Florence, 1583
swell
- Karl Mägdefrau : history of botany . Gustav Fischer Verlag , Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-437-20489-0 .
- Carl Heinrich Schultz : Natural system of the plant kingdom according to its internal organization, together with a comparative representation of the most important of all earlier artificial and natural plant systems . 1832
- Carl von Linné : Classes Plantarum . Leiden, 1738
Notes and individual references
- ↑ The permission to print the work is dated September 27, 1581
- ^ Accidentia
- ^ Substancia
- ^ "Primus verus systematicus" In: Carl von Linné: Fundamenta Botanica , 1st edition, Amsterdam, 1736, p. 10, §33
- ↑ "Ille mihi maxime placet, eiusque breves descriptiones quibus discedit ab omnibus aliis, tamen semper habet qliquid singulare." Dt. according to Mägdefrau p. 44
- ^ Carl von Linné: Classis Plantarum . Leiden, 1738, columns 1-32
- ↑ Only genera are listed in which Linnaeus did not make any corrections to the spelling, for example Crocum today Crocus .
Web links
- Scan from De plantis libri XVI at Gallica
- Andrea Cesalpino in the Catholic Encyclopedia