Genera Plantarum

work by Bentham and Hooker

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June 29, 2026

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Genera Plantarum was a monumental three-volume work by George Bentham and Sir Joseph Hooker, published between 1862 and 1883. It aimed to classify all known seed plants, describing 7,569 genera and over 97,200 species in Latin.1

While it refined existing taxonomic systems, it did not fully incorporate Charles Darwin's evolutionary principles. Despite this, the classification system established by Bentham and Hooker became authoritative and, with modifications, continues to influence modern plant taxonomy, particularly within the British Commonwealth. This work built upon the foundation laid by Carolus Linnaeus's Species Plantarum (1753), which introduced binomial nomenclature, the standard two-part naming system for species still used today.12

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George Bentham
…of specimens for the work Genera Plantarum (3 vol., 1862–83). It was published in Latin and covered 200 “orders” (analogous to what are now known as families) of 7,569 genera, which included more than 97,200 species.
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…of specimens for the work Genera Plantarum (3 vol., 1862–83). It was published in Latin and covered 200 “orders” (analogous to what are now known as families) of 7,569 genera, which included more than 97,200 species.
Read More

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
…the final volume of the Genera Plantarum, written in conjunction with George Bentham. This world flora, describing 7,569 genera and approximately 97,000 species of seed-bearing plants, was based on a personal examination of the specimens cited, the vast majority of which were deposited at Kew.
Read More
…the final volume of the Genera Plantarum, written in conjunction with George Bentham. This world flora, describing 7,569 genera and approximately 97,000 species of seed-bearing plants, was based on a personal examination of the specimens cited, the vast majority of which were deposited at Kew.
Read More