Carl Linnaeus, the 'Father of Botany' (part II)

As we left off last week, Carl Linnaeus was starting to assemble long and adventurous expeditions in conjunction with other European countries to go out into the new world and discover and bring back new and exotic flora and fauna.

These explorations were arduous and dangers lurked in the jungles, savannahs and deserts with snakes, foreign animals, insects, disease and unknown predators. Many of these early explorers did not return due to the many hardships they encountered.

Those who did survive the hardships brought back glorious green plant treasures from exotic faraway lands. Tea and coffee were two of the flavorful imports that tantalized the Europeans.

The expeditions to foreign lands were also to collect plants of medicinal and commercial value that were learned from various cultures and brought back into the booming populations of Europe. Botanical remedies were of great interest. Many of the plants that were collected were dried and pressed at their collection sites and shipped back to the University of Uppsala for classification and documentation.

Botanical artists were also sent out on some of these trips. They painted and drew the specimens to be brought back with descriptions of the newly collected plants.

Collected seeds of all types were of prime interest to the awaiting botanists of Europe. On some voyages, the seeds were even started aboard ship and returned to home port as sprouted seedlings to be nourished and tended in warm heated greenhouses and orangeries.

Can you just envision the uncharted waters that these young scientists and students saw for the first time with exotics like mango, papaya, banana, breadfruit and citrus?

First, the challenge was to survive the long and arduous voyage to the distant unknown lands. Then, upon the ship’s mooring, they had to collect their senses on where to start in the collecting of plants, for everything was brand new, exciting and enticing. Order had to be established and calm had to be instilled for these excited eyes of young men from the cold northern hemisphere of Scandinavia before they would set out on their trek.

Some of these botanical excursions lasted for years. It wasn’t as if the ship would dock and the captain would say, “Be back in a few days and we’ll leave for other area.” No, some of these excursions lasted for weeks, months and years into the back country to find, study and record their findings.

Meantime, these adventurers had to adjust to indigenous foods, cultures, disease, weather, blazing trails into the brush or jungles and everything else in between for survival. And what if they were late for their return pickup and stranded there on the beach with rich collections and documents just waiting to be taken back to the fatherlands of Europe?

As the academy of Linnaeus received wooden crates, drawings, seeds and plant presses from around the world, his system of classification began setting it straight into the binomial botanical order of genus and species.

So if we garden in Fallbrook, Hamburg, Auckland, New York, Paris, Alaska or Bonsall, the naming of plants has been brought about in such a fashion that today we owe a great deal of gratitude to the father of botanical plant nomenclature and therefore celebrate this 300-year anniversary of Carl Linnaeus’ birth and his immense contribution to the global plant kingdom.

If you go to a local nursery, or a flower show, you now might have a better interpretation of how plants got their names and appreciate them a bit more. You will also find some of these botanical names in the pharmacy and your local produce department. Drive around town sometime and look for plant names on street signs like Acacia, Almond, Bamboo Lane, Beech, Bottlebrush, Carnation, Citrus, Coral Tree, Elder and many more just in Fallbrook alone.

When my daughter Claudine had her first little girl, she was named Linnea after one of Linneaeus’ favorite Swedish flowers. My wife Birgitta and I were delighted.

Just recently Birgitta and I enjoyed a holiday in parts of Sweden and had the great fortune to visit Linneaeus’ home, botanical gardens in Uppsala and summer retreat compound in the outskirts of Hammarby, where the Linnaeus family spent summers and where he trained many of his young students out in the Swedish countryside.

My life has been very full and rich due to the botanical course of my profession and my passion within the plant world and I am thankful.

Tack-tack (Swedish thank you), Carl Linnaeus.

A landscape designer, Roger Boddaert creates sustainable Mediterranean and water-wise landscapes for Southern California gardens. He can be reached for design and consultations at (760) 728-4297.