The anatomy of plants : With an idea of a philosophical history of plants, and…
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The anatomy of plants by Nehemiah Grew is a scientific treatise written in the late 17th century. It lays out a systematic, microscope-aided account of plant structure and life processes, contending that plants possess organized internal “organs” and mechanical operations comparable to those of animals. The work’s aim is a “philosophical history” of plants that connects anatomy, sap flow, and the sensory qualities of colors, odors, and tastes to their faculties and
practical uses in medicine, cultivation, and the arts. The opening of this treatise presents a transcriber’s note on editorial choices and a helpful contents overview, followed by the Royal Society’s endorsement and a dedication to the monarch asserting the novelty and wonder of plant microstructure. Grew’s preface recounts how lecture work grew into a larger project, how peers in the Royal Society encouraged and licensed it, how it stood alongside Malpighi’s parallel studies, and how he combined naked-eye inspection with microscopy and explanatory plates. He then introduces his “Idea of a Philosophical History of Plants,” first surveying what botanists already know and where knowledge is deficient, and arguing why deeper inquiry is both possible and worthwhile. He proposes a multi-part program: comparative study of external features (figures, proportions, seasons, places, motions), rigorous anatomy of all parts with and without the microscope, and analysis of plant “contents” (sap, mucilages, milks, oils, gums) including their receptacles, motions, quantities, consistence, colors, smells, tastes, and faculties. Finally, he sketches an experimental toolkit—infusion, digestion, decoction, distillation, drying, roasting, burning, calcination, and mixtures—to relate these observations to causes and uses. This is only a summary of the opening portion, which sets the plan and methods rather than presenting the full body of results. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Grew, Nehemiah, 1641-1712 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 06006649 |
| Title | The anatomy of plants : With an idea of a philosophical history of plants, and several other lectures, read before the Royal Society |
| Original Publication | London: Nehemiah Grew, 1682. |
| Credits | Carol Brown, Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | QK: Science: Botany |
| Subject | Chemistry -- Early works to 1800 |
| Subject | Plant anatomy |
| Subject | Botany -- Pre-Linnean works |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77434 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-77434-3 |
| Release Date | Dec 9, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 422 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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