Methodus Plantarum Nova

book by Ray

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June 30, 2026

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Methodus Plantarum Nova (1682) was a significant botanical work by the English naturalist John Ray. In this book, Ray proposed a new system for classifying plants, emphasizing the distinction between monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants based on their seeds. This work was a crucial step in establishing the species as the fundamental unit of taxonomy, moving away from purely artificial systems towards a more natural classification based on a broader range of characteristics. Ray's contributions laid important groundwork for later botanists, including Carolus Linnaeus.

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John Ray
Important publications
…1682 he had published a Methodus Plantarum Nova (revised in 1703 as the Methodus Plantarum Emendata . . . ), his contribution to classification, which insisted on the taxonomic importance of the distinction between monocotyledons and dicotyledons, plants whose seeds germinate with one leaf and those with two, respectively. Ray’s…
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…1682 he had published a Methodus Plantarum Nova (revised in 1703 as the Methodus Plantarum Emendata . . . ), his contribution to classification, which insisted on the taxonomic importance of the distinction between monocotyledons and dicotyledons, plants whose seeds germinate with one leaf and those with two, respectively. Ray’s…
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