Originally published in 1981, this generously illustrated volume marked the 150th anniversary of the acquisition by the University of Cambridge of the site for its 'New Botanic Garden'. Written by a distinguished authority on British and European plants, the book honours the eminent scientists and key ideas that have been most influential not only in the history of the Botanic Gardens but also in guiding the development of botany itself from the foundations laid by John Ray in the...
List of illustrations; Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: botany, medicine and horticulture; 2. Ray and the herborising tradition; 3. Bradley and the horticultural tradition; 4. The Martyns and the Linnaean tradition; 5. Henslow and the rise of natural science; 6. Babington, Vines and Lynch: the fragmentation of botany; 7. The New Botany School: Marshall Ward and his successors; 8. Whole-plant botany and the modern Botanic Garden; Bibliography; Index.