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Which book by Carolus Linnaeus established binomial naming for plants?
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Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus, engraving from Robert John Thornton's The Temple of Flora (1807).
The book by Carolus Linnaeus that established the binomial naming system for plants is titled Species Plantarum (1753).12
While Linnaeus had previously explored principles of classification and nomenclature in works such as Fundamenta Botanica and Critica Botanica, it was Species Plantarum that served as the first work to consistently apply the two-word system of binomial nomenclature in print. By assigning each plant a genus name and a species name, Linnaeus provided a precise, workable alternative to the cumbersome polynomial descriptions that were common at the time. The first edition of this two-volume masterwork is internationally recognized as the official starting point for the nomenclature of plants and ferns.342