''Flora Londinensis'' is a

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

sized book that described the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

found in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

region of the mid 18th century. The ''Flora'' was published by

William Curtis William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum. Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural ...

in six large volumes. The descriptions of the plants included hand-coloured copperplate plates by

botanical artist Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

s such as

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his detailed and app ...

Sydenham Edwards Sydenham Teast Edwards (5 August 1768 – 8 February 1819) was a natural history illustrator. He illustrated plants, birds and importantly published an illustrated book on the breeds of dogs in Britain, ''Cynographia Britannica''. Edwards was bo ...

and

William Kilburn William Kilburn (1745–1818) was an illustrator for William Curtis' Flora Londinensis, as well as a leading designer and printer of calico. A few hundred originals of his water colour designs make up the ''Kilburn Album'', housed at the Victori ...

. The full title is ''Flora Londinensis: or, plates and descriptions of such plants as grow wild in the environs of London: with their places of growth, and times of flowering, their several names according to Linnæus and other authors: with a particular description of each plant in Latin and English. To which are added, their several uses in medicine, agriculture, rural œconomy and other arts.'' The first volume was produced in 1777 and the final one, containing a title and an index, was published in 1798. A binary name is given for each species in the survey; common and other names are also provided. Previous works on the flora of Britain had been intended for scientists, apothecaries, and herbalists, while ''Flora Londinensis'' was written for the general reader. The appealing plates also provided botanical details which could assist in the identification of a species. Curtis was ''praefectus horti'' (Director, Society of Apothecaries) at the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the sc ...

and a botanist with a broad knowledge of exotic species. However, ''Flora Londinensis'' covered the territory most familiar to him -- the flowering species within a 10-mile radius of London. He commissioned several painters to produce hand-coloured copper engravings to accompany the pages. Curtis wrote the descriptions and managed the publishing and sales of the volumes, producing six fascicles of twelve issues, each containing six plates. The final survey eventually came to include many species found in southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and a few others. The Subscriber's List in Volume I records 321 names who between them subscribed for 331 complete copies. Plates were also sold individually, either coloured or plain. For such an expensive and high quality work this was a surprisingly large output, a reflection of the esteem in which William Curtis was held. His ''

The Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

'' would be a greater financial success. James Sowerby, who helped to publish this work and provided over 70 of the plates, went on to produce natural history publications in a similar format, most notably, ''

English Botany ''English Botany'' was a major publication of British plants comprising a 36 volume set, issued in 267 monthly parts over 23 years from 1790 to 1814. The work was conceived, illustrated, edited and published by the botanical illustrator and natura ...

'' comprising 36 volumes published over 23 years commencing in November 1790. The work was effectively enlarged by the botanical illustrator William Hooker (1779-1832) (sometimes confused with Sir William Jackson Hooker) who from 1805 to 1807 published ''The Paradisus Londinensis: or coloured figures of plants cultivated in the vicinity of the metropolis''. Image:Tormentilla officinalis (Sowerby).jpg, ''

Tormentilla officinalis ''Potentilla erecta'' (syn. ''Tormentilla erecta'', ''Potentilla laeta'', ''Potentilla tormentilla'', known as the (common) tormentil, septfoil or erect cinquefoil ) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family (Rosaceae). Descri ...

'' Image:William Curtis, Scolopendrium vulgare.jpg, ''

Scolopendrium vulgare ''Asplenium scolopendrium'', commonly known as the hart's-tongue fern, is an evergreen fern in the genus ''Asplenium'' native to the Northern Hemisphere. Description The most striking and unusual feature of the fern is its simple, undivided fron ...

References

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External links

{{Commons, Flora Londinensis * https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/62570#/summary Flora Londinensis at the BioDiversity Heritage Library

References

External links

See also