Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How many plant species did the first edition of Species Plantarum describe?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus, engraving from Robert John Thornton's The Temple of Flora (1807).
In the first edition of Species Plantarum, published in 1753, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus described approximately 6,000 plant species.1
This landmark two-volume work was significant for establishing a precise, workable binomial nomenclature system, which serves as the foundation for modern plant taxonomy. By assigning each plant a genus and species name, Linnaeus replaced the cumbersome polynomial descriptions that were previously in use.1