Botanica

A tribute to the world''s most extensive collection of botanical specimens, which scientists have meticulously gathered, preserved, and studied since the eighteenth century.

With over eight million samples, the Herbarium''s prestigious botanical collection housed at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris is the most extensive in the world. The Herbarium''s archive is a living testament to the world''s major historical events--from the 1237 BCE funerary headdress of Egyptian king Ramses II, to third-generation botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu''s groundbreaking natural classification of flowering plants, or Jean-Jacques Rousseau''s hand-annotated botanical notebook. Today, scientists at the Herbarium continue their important work in the study and preservation of plant biodiversity.

The practice of assembling a herbarium, while first used as a scientific tool, became an art in its own right due to the beauty of its floral forms and colors. This handsome volume traces the creative, patrimonial, and scientific dimensions of this exceptional collection that safeguards a rare international heritage; a testimony to the modern challenges of biodiversity.