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THE LINNEAN SPECIAL ISSUE No. 8 The Linnaean Legacy: Three Centuries after his Birth Part 1: Unlocking the Past Part 2: Botanical Art in the Age of Linnaeus Part 3: Today and the Future edited by Mary J. Morris and Leonie Berwick 2 THE LINNEAN SPECIAL ISSUE NO 8 WILEY-BLACKWELL 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ Special Issue No. 8 of The Linnean Newsletter and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London ISSN 0950-1096 © 2008 The Linnean Society of London Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BF www.linnean.org Charity Reference No. 220509 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The designations of geographic entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the publishers, the Linnean Society, the editors or any other participating organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. THE LINNAEAN LEGACY: THREE CENTURIES AFTER HIS BIRTH 3 The Linnaean Legacy: Three Centuries after his Birth Contents Foreword David Cutler 5 Part 1 – Unlocking the Past Commemoration Speech Carl-Olof Jacobson 9 The Keen Eye: Linnaeus – The Man Who Saw Everything Karin Berglund 13 Linnaeus: An 18th Century Background Marie-Christine Skuncke 19 What’s more important, a good story or a true story? The merging of facts and fiction at Linnaeus’ houses in Uppsala Margareta Nisser-Dalman 27 Making Memorials: Early Celebrations of Linnaeus Hanna Östholm 35 The Origin of and the Philosophy behind Linnaeus’ Sexual System Nils Uddenberg 45 Linnaeus’ sexual system and flowering plant phylogeny Birgitta Bremer 51 Science or poetry? Vernacular plant names and binary nomenclature in Sweden around 1900 Jenny Beckman 55 Apollos of Systematic Botany Pieter Baas 63 Part 2 – Botanical Art in the Age of Linnaeus Linnaeus’ use of illustrations in his naming of plants Charlie Jarvis 75 Georg Dionysius Ehret: A Glimpse into the Golden Age of Botany Annika Erikson Browne 85 Botanical Art in the Age of Linnaeus Brent Elliott 97 Linnaeus’ Legacy: Botanical Art from the Age of Transoceanic Discovery John Edmondson 105 Part 3 – Today and the Future Linné and Taxonomy in Japan: On the 300th Anniversary of his Birth His Majesty The Emperor of Japan 115 England’s Linnaeus Brent Elliott 121 4 THE LINNEAN SPECIAL ISSUE NO 8 Contents continued: Linnaeus’ Lapland Herbarium in Paris Bengt Jonsell 129 The conservation of iconic objects and Linnaeus’ books and wallpaper Per Cullhed 135 The Linnean collections at Uppsala University Roland Moberg 141 Linnaeus’ specimens of mammals and birds Anthea Gentry 145 The Linnaeus Link Project Carol Gökçe 153 Linnaean Landscapes – Transforming Linnaeus’ Cultural Context into a Cultural Heritage Mariette Manktelow 155 A Tribute to Linnaeus at the Chelsea Flower Show 2007 Ulf Nordfjell 163 Naming Nature: The Future of the Linnaean System Sandra Knapp 167 Authors’ e-mail addresses 174 THE LINNAEAN LEGACY: THREE CENTURIES AFTER HIS BIRTH 5 The Linnaean Legacy: Three Centuries after his Birth Foreword In 2007, the Tercentenary of the birth of Linnaeus was celebrated around the world – a fitting tribute to the man and his outstanding contributions to the scientific study of natural history, many of which are still especially relevant today. It was to be expected that the main concentration of celebrations, scientific meetings and excursions was to be found in Sweden and Britain. We are very pleased that, as a Society, under the expert guidance of our Tercentenary Coordinator, Jenny Edmonds, we were able to share in the organisation of many of these with Swedish colleagues. Those who attended the meetings and conferences were most fortunate to hear at first hand stimulating and significant papers. In this volume we have brought together some of these papers, making them available to a wider readership. It must be said that in most cases it was not the original intention to publish them, but they were so well received that many of the authors graciously responded to my request for their contributions to be written up for this publication. Not only did they agree, but also delivered their manuscripts in good time, responding to the diligent encouragement of both Leonie Berwick (in London) and Annika Windahl Pontén (in Sweden). We are also greatly indebted to Mary Morris and Leonie for their hard work and skill in editing and producing this excellent and attractive supplement. The grouping of the contributions used here is based on subject matter rather than their association with particular meetings. This has enabled us to include in appropriate places some additional individual papers of particular importance. Among these is the paper read in the Rooms of the Linnean Society by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, an Honorary Member of the Linnean Society. We are also glad to have the Commemoration Speech given by Carl-Olof Jacobson, President of the Swedish Linnaeus Society, given in Uppsala Cathedral. This supplement covers both historical and forward looking papers. It is the forward look based on such firm foundations that is so encouraging. Our thanks go to all of those who helped make the meetings possible, and for those who helped us to know more about Linnaeus – the man who saw everything. DAVID F. CUTLER President, Linnean Society of London 6 THE LINNEAN SPECIAL ISSUE NO 8 THE LINNAEAN LEGACY: THREE CENTURIES AFTER HIS BIRTH 7 The Linnaean Legacy: Three Centuries after his Birth Part 1: Unlocking the Past 8 THE LINNEAN SPECIAL ISSUE NO 8 THE LINNAEAN LEGACY: THREE CENTURIES AFTER HIS BIRTH 9 Commemoration Speech delivered at the Linnaeus Tercentenary Memorial, Uppsala Cathedral, May 23 2007 Carl-Olof Jacobson FLS N. Rudbecksgatan 13, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden Sir, Court Physician and Knight of the Realm, our dear Carl Linnaeus: As you no doubt are fully aware, your memory, on this day, 300 years after your birth, is the object of extensive celebrations across major parts of the world. Et quis umquam dígnior fuit, qui ab ómnibus natiónibus concelebrarétur? Tu enim saeculis futuris demonstrasti, quantum sciéntia naturalis ad vitam humanam excoléndam1 valéret. Hodie intelléximus omnem paene spem nostram in illa scientia naturali consístere. Nam sola illa cognitióne innixi genus humanum, immo totam rerum naturam, a perículis his tempóribus imminéntibus erúere póssumus. (And who could be more deserving of this global attention than you? You have shown all subsequent generations of citizens of our planet how important an ordered knowledge of nature and all of its contexts is for the continued existence of humankind.) Yes, you are indeed worthy of this multifaceted celebration, and so keenly has your presence been felt during this year that it seems natural to address you as if you were in fact here with us. We have every reason to address you today about all the important projects you pursued during your work-laden but exciting life. You have rightly been called the Flower King, but we must bear in mind that your contributions span a much broader field than botany. Both during your lifetime and to posterity, you became known above all as the great bringer of order to the three kingdoms of nature – the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the mineral kingdom. All these years, we have retained your way of giving organisms genus names and species names. Your mind was also supremely attuned to understanding the contexts you perceived in nature. You were a pioneer in grasping the interdependence that characterises the relationships both between organisms and between them and their physical surroundings. You were sensitive to the sometimes delicate mechanisms in our surroundings, and you realised that we humans have a responsibility for the impact we have on nature. It is our hope that your thinking will guide more and more people on our planet. We also hope that your curiosity and boldness and your youthful frame of mind will inspire our young people today. The world is in great need of many, many people who experience the joy of discovery that you felt and who share your diligence. 1 Cf. Verg. Aen. 6,663. 10 THE LINNEAN SPECIAL ISSUE NO 8 How many people have you inspired to study nature and the conditions for human survival on our planet, from the disciples you sent off to all corners of the world to the young people we now hope will emulate your zeal to research everything? Nam sine ea curiositate naturali, qua in iuventute tua ardebas, nihil plane in rebus naturalibus indagándis efficere póssumus. Laudanda est illa curiósitas iuvenílis tua, laudanda etiam illa sapientía paene Salomónea senectútis tuae,2 cum discípulos tuos in omnes paene terras orbis terrarum mítteres. (Without youthful exuberance, very little is accomplished on our earth. We therefore praise both your passion to discover, as a young man, and your wisdom in old age, when you sent off your disciples.) Your enthusiasm and your stimulating way of teaching also made your lectures extremely entertaining to many people outside the Faculty of Medicine. Your idea to take your students out into nature to join you in examining organisms and minerals spawned a generation of kindred spirits, not least among future clergymen. They, in turn, conveyed your views of nature to the Swedes. If it is true, as people say, that we Swedes are especially fervent about being outdoors in our forests and fields, then there is a good case to be made that you are the source of that mindset.