theendeavour voyage。” he regarded the cabinets thoughtfully； as if for the first time in a longwhile。 “i don’t know howwe ended up with them in bryology；” he added。
this was an amazing disclosure。 joseph banks was england’s greatest botanist； and theendeavour voyage—that is the one on which captain cook charted the 1769 transit of venusand claimed australia for the crown； among rather a lot else—was the greatest botanicalexpedition in history。 banks paid ￡10；000； about 1 million in today’s money； to bringhimself and a party of nine others—a naturalist； a secretary； three artists； and four servants—on the three…year adventure around the world。 goodness knows what the bluff captain cook made of such a velvety and pampered assemblage； but he seems to have liked banks wellenough and could not but admire his talents in botany—a feeling shared by posterity。
never before or since has a botanical party enjoyed greater triumphs。 partly it was becausethe voyage took in so many new or little…known places—tierra del fuego； tahiti； newzealand； australia； new guinea—but mostly it was because banks was such an astute andinventive collector。 even when unable to go ashore at rio de janeiro because of a quarantine；he sifted through a bale of fodder sent for the ship’s livestock and made new discoveries。
nothing； it seems； escaped his notice。 altogether he brought back thirty thousand plantspecimens； including fourteen hundred not seen before—enough to increase by about aquarter the number of known plants in the world。
but banks’s grand cache was only part of the total haul in what was an almost absurdlyacquisitive age。 plant collecting in the eighteenth century became a kind of internationalmania。 glory and wealth alike awaited those who could find new species； and botanists andadventurers went to the most incredible lengths to satisfy the world’s craving for horticulturalnovelty。 thomas nuttall； the man who named the wisteria after caspar wistar； came toamerica as an uneducated printer but discovered a passion for plants and walked halfwayacross the country and back again； collecting hundreds of growing things never seen before。
john fraser； for whom is named the fraser fir； spent years in the wilderness collecting onbehalf of catherine the great and emerged at length to find that russia had a new czar whothought he was mad and refused to honor his contract。 fraser took everything to chelsea；where he opened a nursery and made a handsome living selling rhododendrons； azaleas；magnolias； virginia creepers； asters； and other colonial exotica to a delighted english gentry。
huge sums could be made with the right finds。 john lyon； an amateur botanist； spent twohard and dangerous years collecting specimens； but cleared almost 200；000 in today’smoney for his efforts。 many； however； just did it for the love of botany。 nuttall gave most ofwhat he found to the liverpool botanic gardens。 eventually he became director of harvard’sbotanic garden and author of the encyclopedicgenera of north american plants （which henot only wrote but also largely typeset）。
and that was just plants。 there was also all the fauna of the new worlds—kangaroos； kiwis；raccoons； bobcats； mosquitoes； and other curious forms beyond imagining。 the volume of lifeon earth was seemingly infinite； as jonathan swift noted in some famous lines：
so； naturalists observe； a fleahath smaller fleas that on him prey；and these have smaller still to bite ’em；and so proceed ad infinitum。
all this new information needed to be filed； ordered； and pared with what was known。
the world was desperate for a workable system of classification。 fortunately there was a manin sweden who stood ready to provide it。
his name was carl linné （later changed； with permission； to the more aristocraticvonlinné）； but he is remembered now by the latinized form carolus linnaeus。 he was born in1707 in the village of r？shult in southern sweden； the son of a poor but ambitious lutherancurate； and was such a sluggish student that his exasperated father apprenticed him （or； by some accounts； nearly apprenticed him） to a cobbler。 appalled at the prospect of spending alifetime banging tacks into leather； young linné begged for another chance； which wasgranted； and he never thereafter wavered from academic distinction。 he studied medicine insweden and holland； though his passion became the natural world。 in the early 1730s； still inhis twenties； he began to produce catalogues of the world’s plant and animal species； using asystem of his own devising； and gradually his fame grew。
rarely has a man been more fortable with his own greatness。 he spent much of hisleisure time penning long and flattering portraits of himself； declaring that there had never“been a greater botanist or zoologist；” and that his system of classification was “the greatestachievement in the realm of science。” modestly he suggested that his gravestone should bearthe inscription princeps botanicorum； “prince of botanists。” it was never wise to question hisgenerous self…assessments。 those who did so were apt to find they had weeds named afterthem。
linnaeus’s other striking quality was an abiding—at times； one might say； a feverish—preoccupation with sex。 he was particularly struck by the similarity between certain bivalvesand the female pudenda。 to the parts of one species of clam he gave the names vulva； labia；pubes； anus； and hymen。 he grouped plants by the nature of their reproductive organs andendowed them with an arrestingly anthropomorphic amorousness。 his descriptions of flowersand their behavior are full of references to “promiscuous intercourse；” “barren concubines；”
and “the bridal bed。” in spring； he wrote in one oft…quoted passage：
love es even to the plants。 males and females 。 。 。 hold their nuptials 。 。 。
showing by their sexual organs which are males； which females。 the flowers’
leaves serve as a bridal bed； which the creator has so gloriously arranged； adornedwith such noble bed curtains； and perfumed with so many soft scents that thebridegroom with his bride might there celebrate their nuptials with so much thegreater solemnity。 when the bed has thus been made ready； then is the time for thebridegroom to embrace his beloved bride and surrender himself to her。
he named one genus of plants clitoria。 not surprisingly； many people thought him strange。
but his system of classification was irresistible。 before linnaeus； plants were given namesthat were expansively descriptive。 the mon ground cherry was called physalis amnoramosissime ramis angulosis glabris foliis dentoserratis。 linnaeus lopped it back to physalisangulata； which name it still uses。 the plant world was equally disordered by inconsistenciesof naming。 a botanist could not be sure ifrosa sylvestris alba cum rubore； folio glabro wasthe same plant that others called rosa sylvestris inodora seu canina。 linnaeus solved thepuzzlement by calling it simply rosa canina。 to make these excisions useful and agreeable toall required much more than simply being decisive。 it required an instinct—a genius； in fact—for spotting the salient qualities of a species。
the linnaean system is so well established that we can hardly imagine an alternative； butbefore linnaeus； systems of classification were often highly whimsical。 animals might becategorized by whether they were wild or domesticated； terrestrial or aquatic； large or small；even whether they were thought handsome and noble or of no consequence。 buffon arrangedhis animals by their utility to man。 anatomical considerations barely came into it。 linnaeus made it his life’s work to rectify this deficiency by classifying all that was alive according toits physical attributes。 taxonomy—which is to say the science of classification—has neverlooked back。
it all took time； of course。 the first edition of his great systema naturae in 1735 was justfourteen pages long。 but it grew and grew until by the twelfth edition—the last that linnaeuswould live to see—it extended to three volumes and 2；300 pages。 in the end he named orrecorded some 13；000 species of plant and animal。 other works were more prehensive—john ray’s three…volume historia generalis plantarum in england； pleted a generationearlier； covered no fewer than 18；625 species of plants alone—but what linnaeus had that noone else could touch were consistency； order； simplicity； and timeliness。 though his workdates from the 1730s； it didn’t bee widely known in england until the 1760s； just in timeto make linnaeus a kind of father figure to british naturalists。 nowhere was his systemembraced with greater enthusiasm （which is why； for one thing； the linnaean society has itshome in london and not stockholm）。
linnaeus was not flawless。 he made room for mythical beasts and “monstrous humans”
whose descriptions he gullibly accepted from seamen and other imaginative travelers。 amongthese were a wild man； homo ferus； who walked on all fours and had not yet mastered the artof speech； and homo caudatus； “man with a tail。” but then it was； as we should not forget； analtogether more credulous age。 even the great joseph banks took a keen and believing interestin a series of reported sightings of mermaids of