Blooming Botany: The Early History of Plant Sciences in Cambridge

Cambridge has played a key role in the development of botany as a scientific field of study in its own right. This exhibition chronicles key points in the history of botanical learning and teaching at Cambridge, from herbals which occupied medieval scholars to the striking prints illustrating theories of plant classification during the Enlightenment.

The exhibition will showcase the works of eminent Cambridge botanists such as John and Thomas Martyn, as well as those who influenced them, including John Gerard and Carl Linnaeus. The lasting legacy of Johnian botanists will be highlighted along the way, including John Stevens Henslow, friend and mentor of Charles Darwin, who campaigned for the creation of a new Botanic Garden, as well as Erasmus Darwin, whose The Botanic Garden; a Poem in Two Parts controversially captured the public’s attention with its celebration of the joys of botany.

The exhibition is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm in the Library Exhibition Area, which is accessed via the Working Library in Chapel Court.

(Please note the Library will be closed all day on Friday 23rd and Monday 26th August 2019.)