Theophrast (371-287 BC) founded botanical science with his books “De Causis Plantarium”— Plant Etiology and “De Historia Plantarium”—Plant History. In the books, he generated a classification of more than 500 medicinal plants known at the time. Among others, he referred to cinnamon, iris rhizome, false hellebore, mint, pomegranate, cardamom, fragrant hellebore, monkshood, & so forth. In the description of the plant toxic action, Theophrast underscored the important feature for humans to become accustomed to them by a gradual increase of the doses. Owing to his consideration of these issues, he gained the epithet of “the father of botany,” given that he was given great credit for his classification & description of medicinal plants.
Trinity College in Dublin tells us that Theophrastus was born in 370 B.C. & was a student of Aristotle, who bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, & designated him as his successor at his School. He was a scholar, botanist, biologist, & physicist. The most important of his books are two large botanical treatises, Enquiry into Plants, & On the Causes of Plants, which constitute the 1st systemization of the botanical world & were major sources for botanical knowledge during antiquity & the Middle Ages. On the strength of these works some call him the "father of botany."
These books documented types of plants commonly used at the time, & described attempts to cultivate wild plants. Theophrastus developed his own vocabulary to describe plant processes & horticultural & agricultural efforts. He was concerned about the many species of unidentified & unknown plants of the wilderness. He commissioned his students & staff to collect specimens & conduct experiments as they worked, which helped to determine which plants could be put to various uses.
The Enquiry into Plants was originally 10 books, of which 9 survive. The work is arranged into a system whereby plants are classified according to their modes of generation, their localities, their sizes, & according to their practical uses such as foods, juices, herbs,
The 1st book deals with the parts of plants; the 2nd with the reproduction of plants & the times & manner of sowing; the 3rd, 4th & 5th books are devoted to trees, their types, their locations, & their practical applications; the 6th deals with shrubs & spiny plants; the 7th deals with herbs; the 8th deals with plants which produce edible seeds; & the 9th deals with plants which produce useful juices, gums, resins, etc.
On the Causes of Plants was originally 8 books, of which 6 survive. It concerns the growth of plants; the influences on their fecundity; the proper times they should be sown & reaped; the methods of preparing the soil, manuring it, & the use of tools; of the smells, tastes, & properties of many types of plants. The work deals mainly with the economical uses of plants rather than their medicinal uses, although the latter are sometimes mentioned. Although these works contain many absurd & fabulous statements, as a whole they have many valuable observations concerning the functions & properties of plants. Theophrastus detected the process of germination & realized the importance of climate & soil to plants.
Much of the information on the Greek plants may have come from his own observations, as he is known to have travelled throughout Greece, & to have had a botanical garden of his own; but the works also profit from the reports on plants of Asia brought back from those who followed Alexander the Great. To the reports of Alexander's followers he owed his accounts of such plants as the cotton-plant, banyan, pepper, cinnamon, myrrh & frankincense.
From: Theophrastus (371 - 287 BC) from Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin
