2. Module Overview
History of Botany
Pre-17th century
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century to present
3. During the pre-17th century
4th Century B.C.E: Both Aristotle and
Theophrastus got involved in identifying
plants and describing them.
Because of his contributions, Theophrastus
was hailed as the “Father of botany”
because of his two surviving works on plant
studies.
Although Aristotle also wrote about plants,
he received more recognition for his studies
of animals.
4. During the pre-17th century
In A.D. 60: Dioscorides wrote De Materia
Medica.
This work described a thousand medicines,
most of which came from plants.
For 1500 years, it remained the guidebook
on medicines in the Western world until the
invention of the compound microscope.
Quote: “Medicine sometimes grants health,
sometimes destroys it, showing which plants
are helpful, which do harm.”
5. During the 17th century
Early 17th century: For a brief period, the
search for knowledge in the field of Botany
temporarily became stagnant.
However, the revival of learning during the
European Renaissance renewed interest in
plants
The number of scientific publications
increased.
6. During the 17th century
1640: Johannes van Helmont measured the
uptake of water in a tree. Brittanica.com explains
(refer to Major Experiments section) “In what is
perhaps his best-known experiment, van Helmont
placed a 5-pound (about 2.2-kg) willow in an
earthen pot containing 200 pounds (about 90 kg) of
dried soil, and over a five-year period he added
nothing to the pot but rainwater or distilled
water.
After five years, he found that the tree weighed 169
pounds (about 77 kg), while the soil had lost only 2
ounces (57 grams). He concluded that “164 pounds
of wood, barks, and roots arose out of water only,”
and he had not even included the weight of the
leaves that fell off every autumn.”
7. During the 17th century
1665: Robert Hooke invented the
microscope. Because of this, Robert Hooke
had the chance to take a close look of a cell
looks like. His description of these cells was
published in Micrographia. However, the
cells seen by Hooke showed no signs of the
nucleus and other organelles found in most
living cells (Rhoads 2007).
1674: Anton van Leeuwenhoek saw a live
cell under a microscope. Before his
discovery, the existence of single-celled
organisms were unknown and initially were
met with skepticism
8. During the 17th century
1686: John Ray published his
book, Historia Plantarum. This became an
important step toward modern
taxonomy (Arber 2010).
1694: Rudolf Camerarius established
plant sexuality in his book entitled De Sexu
Plantarum Epistola.
There, he stated that: “No ovules of plants
could ever develop into seeds from the
female style and ovary without first being
prepared by the pollen from the stamens,
the male sexual organs of the plant“.
9. During the 18th century
1727: Stephen Hales successfully
established plant physiology as a science.
He published his experiments dealing with
the nutrition and respiration of plants in his
publication entitled Vegetable Staticks.
He developed techniques to measure
area, mass, volume, temperature, pressure,
and even gravity in plants.
10. During the 18th century
1758: Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linne), the
“Father of Taxonomy“, introduced the science of
taxonomy which deals with the identification,
nomenclature, description and classification of
organisms (species). His classification is based on
the fact that species was the smallest unit and each
species (taxon) is under a higher category (Farabee
2001).
1760s: Botany became even more widespread
among educated women who painted plants,
attended classes on plant classification, and collected
herbarium specimens. However, their study focused
on the healing properties of plants rather than plant
reproduction. Women began publishing on botanical
topics, and children’s books on botany
appeared (Mason 2016).
11. Later part of the eighteenth century:
The prize resulting from the period of exploration was
accumulated in gardens and herbaria. And the task of
systematically cataloging them was left to the
taxonomists.
Joseph Priestley laid the foundation for the chemical
analysis of plant metabolism. Joseph Priestley
published his works as Experiments and
Observations on Different Kinds of Air in
1774.
The published paper demonstrated that green plants
absorb “fixed air” (carbon dioxide) from the
atmosphere, give off “gas” or “dephlogisticated air”,
which is now known as oxygen, and that this gas is
essential to animal life (Rook 1964).
12. During the 19th Century
Early part of the nineteenth century: Progress
in the study of plant fossils was made.
1818: Chlorophyll was discovered.
1840: Advances were made in the study of plant
diseases because of the potato blight that killed
potato crops in Ireland. This led to the further study
of plant diseases (Richman 2016).
1847: The process of photosynthesis was first
elucidated by Mayer. However, the exact and detailed
mechanism remained a mystery until the 1862.
1859: Charles Darwin proposed his theory of
evolution and adaptation, or more commonly
referred to as “survival of the fittest” (kenyon.edu
2016).
13. During the 19th Century
Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace collaborated.
Darwin soon published his renowned and highly recognized
book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection.
Around the same time, Gregor Mendel was performing
experiments on the inheritance among pea plants.
Gregor Mendel became the “Father of Genetics”.
1862: The exact mechanism of photosynthesis was
discovered when it was observed that starch was formed
in green cells only in the presence of light.
1865: The results of Mendel’s experiments in 1865 showed
that both parents should pass distinct physical factors which
code information to their offspring at conception. The
offspring then inherits one unit for each trait from each of
his parents (Richman 2016)
14. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Early 20th Century: The process of nitrogen fixation,
nitrification, and ammonification was discovered.
1903: The two types of chlorophyll—a and b were
discovered. Learn more here.
1936: Through his experiment, Alexander Oparin
demonstrated the mechanism of the synthesis of
organic matter from inorganic molecules. Refer to
a controversial observation of his findings at later years.
1940s: Ecology became a separate
discipline. Technology has helped specialists in botany
to see and understand the three-dimensional nature of
cells, and genetic engineering of plants. This had greatly
improved agricultural crops and products (Arber 2010).
Until the present, the study of plants continues as
botanists try to understand both the structure, behavior
and cellular activities of plants.
15. Twentieth Century up to the Present
This endeavor is to develop better crops, find
new medicines, and explore ways of
maintaining an ecological balance on Earth to
sustain both plant and animal life (Mason
2016).
Botany is the scientific study of plants, their
anatomy, structure, genetics, ecology,
distribution, and taxonomy. Every year,
there are many innovations, breakthrough
discoveries, and technology advancements
in the world of plants. Let's explore the top
16. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top Botany News in 2017
Discovery of Dna Reprogramming in
Plant Reproductive Cycle
Creative Way To Produce Biofuel From
Sorghum
Light-Emitting Watercress For Future
Streetlamps
Discovery of Switch-Type Personality of
Bacteria Living in Plants
Detailed Study of Anesthetics Effects on
Plants
Gene-Editing Technique on algae Makes
Renewable Fuels
17. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top Botany News in 2017
Same Plant Species Effect on Climate
Change
Study Confirms Stunted Plant Growth
Due To Herbivore-Induced Chemical
New Growth Method For Wheat Using
Carbon Nanotubes
Study Confirms Climate Conditions Alter
Chocolate Flavor in Cocoa-Beans
Advanced Research on Plant
Photoreceptors in Gene Expression
High Yield of Soybean Production By
Altering Its protein
18. Twentieth Century up to the Present
15 Latest Inventions in Botany For 2018
1. Genes that turn legumes into Jumbo-like
Plants
2. Studying the intricacies of Photosynthesis
on the enzyme level
3. miRNAs control flowers
4. Validation for herbal medicine
5. Plant extracts found to be effective
Fungicides
6. Female flowers found more resistant to
certain fungal infections
7. Network of genes that controls petal
senescence was discovered
19. Twentieth Century up to the Present
15 Latest Inventions in Botany For 2018
8. Silicone as a plant protector
9. Metabolomics shows the unseen differences
in a popular plant
10. Novel Genetics-based approach to
optimize crop production
11. Auxin triggers a specific pathway in palm
oil plants
12. Tracing the evolutionary history of an
amazing plant group
13. Novel grafting approaches offered to help
pepper plants
14. Unexpected benefits of wet leaves
15. Cognition in plants is real
20. Twentieth Century up to the Present
15 Latest Inventions in Botany For 2018
1. A new treasure from an old forest: a new
species of shrub was discovered in the
protected mountain area between
Mozambique and Zimbabwe [United
Kingdom-Belgium, October 2019].
2. Finding the secrets of indigenous tribes
through experimental botany: the
scientists have shown that growing certain
types of crops could provide huge harvests
for tribes that cultivated them [USA,
December 2019].
21. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 10 BEST Botany Discoveries in 2019
1. A new treasure from an old forest: a new
species of shrub was discovered in the
protected mountain area between
Mozambique and Zimbabwe [United
Kingdom-Belgium, October 2019].
2. Finding the secrets of indigenous tribes
through experimental botany: the
scientists have shown that growing certain
types of crops could provide huge harvests
for tribes that cultivated them [USA,
December 2019].
22. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 10 BEST Botany Discoveries in 2019
3. Unconquered flower: a species of a bush
from South Africa thought to be extinct was
discovered by a student [Republic of South
Africa, November 2019].
4. The secrets of making traps: the unique
study has shown for the first time how
carnivorous plants form traps [United
Kingdom, October 2019].
5. A new role for the reactive oxygen species:
plants are found to use oxygen species for
guiding root growth [USA, December 2019].
23. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 10 BEST Botany Discoveries in 2019
6. Protective armor for seeds: researchers have
developed seed coating that would help seeds
grow in less fertile soils [USA, September
2019].
7. Plants can be good elders for their young:
plants are shown to interact and support
younger seedlings [Spain-UK, 2019].
8. Pectin as an aluminum armor: how plants
protect themselves from aluminum poisoning
[Japan, October 2019].
24. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 10 BEST Botany Discoveries in 2019
9. A fungus in sheep clothing: fungi are using
special chitin-binding proteins that protect
them from plant immunity [Slovenia-
Netherlands, August 2019].
10. Danger to an iconic plant: drought may
destroy rare Hawaiian silverswords [USA,
November 2019].
25. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 10 Botany News in 2020
1. Scary potato orchid discovered in
Madagascar [Great Britain, December 2020]
2. Beautiful and unique plant discovered in
Hawai’i [USA, December 2020]
3. Adult trees grow better with a wide network
of fungi [September 2020, Canada]
4. A virus that makes a bad fungus good
[China, September 2020]
5. Microscopic algae living in the desert have
invented their own protective mechanism
against the heat [USA, July 2020]
26. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 10 Botany News in 2020
6. Domesticated plants lose the ability to form
symbiotic relationships with fungi and
bacteria [USA, May 2020]
7. How carbon dating has helped with
understanding orchid nutrition [Japan, 27
January 2020]
8. Pretending to be a flower: a new way to
parasitize on plants [USA, November 2020]
9. Quartz provides refuge for mosses in
Mojave Desert [USA, July 2020]
10. A dangerous invasive species of red algae
discovered in the Hawai’I region [USA, July
2020]
27. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 15 Botany News of 2021
1. Scientists warn about the threat imposed
on Cape primroses due to copper mining
(UK, May-2021)
2. Miracle microbial molecule that slows
down the plant aging process (UK, Sep-
2021)
3. Biologists unlock the secret contribution of
forests in climate change (USA, Feb-2021)
4. Long-running debate over photosynthesis
is resolved by scientists’ findings (UK, Feb
2021)
28. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 15 Botany News of 2021
5. New Species Found by Researchers in
Critically Endangered Ecosystem (USA, Aug
2021)
6. Scientists decode 50-year-old puzzle behind
plant growth (USA, Nov-2021)
7. The defensive machinery of plant roots
(Switzerland, Sept-2021)
8. Root flavonoids are linked to improving
association with Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi,
AMF (USA, Jan-2021)
9. Rare fossil of seeds emerging from a
pinecone wrapped in amber (USA, Nov 2021)
29. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 15 Botany News of 2021
10. Botanists have discovered that having
more duplication of a gene makes it simpler to
identify the gene that can handle a problem
(Czech, Dec 2021)
11. Dynamic Flux of carbohydrate level
prepare the northern trees during winter
(USA, July 2021)
12. Seed coat of the closest relative of
angiosperm Gnetum sp. unravels the evolution
of fruiting plants (USA, Aug 2021)
30. Twentieth Century up to the Present
Top 15 Botany News of 2021
13. Apomixis contributes to the invasion
potential of this alien Asteraceae species
(China, April 2021)
14. Scientists trace the molecular evolutionary
patterns of Vitamin C biosynthesis in plants
(China, Jan 2021)
15. Climate change drastically affects the
biological clock in forest cover (USA, Jan
2021)
31. References
Arber, Agnes. “THE EARLY HISTORY OF
BOTANY.” Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution,
2010: 1-2.
Farabee, M. Development of the Evolutionary
Theory. 2001. https://www2.estrellamountain.edu/
faculty/farabee/biobk/BioBookEVOLI.html (accesse
d July 22, 2016).
JRank Articles. e: Botany – History of botany –
Plants, Plant, Study, and
Century. 2016.
http://science.jrank.org/pages/996/Botany.html
(accessed July 24, 2016).
32. References
kenyon.edu. History of Genetics. 2016.
http://biology.kenyon.edu/courses/biol114/Chap01/
history_genetics.html (accessed July 22, 2016).
Kumar, Punam. Introduction to botany. 2016.
http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/bot/frame1
.html (accessed July 23, 2016).
Mason, M.G. Introduction to Botany. 2016.
http://www.environmentalscience.org/botany
(accessed July 23, 2016).
Rhoads, Dan. History of Cell Biology. 2007.
http://bitesizebio.com/166/history-of-cell-biology/
(accessed July 22, 2016).
33. References
Richman, Vita. History of botany. 2016.
http://science.jrank.org/pages/996/Botany.html
(accessed July 23, 2016).
ROOK A (ed.). 1964. The Origins and Growth of
Biology. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin
Books, Ltd. 403 p.
