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Enquiry into Plants, Volume I: Books 1–5
Enquiry into Plants and De Causis Plantarum by Theophrastus (c. 370 c. 285 BCE) are a counterpart to Aristotle s zoological work and the most important botanical work of antiquity now extant. In the former Theophrastus classifies and describes. His On Odours and Weather Signs are minor treatises.
Theophrastus of Eresus in Lesbos, born about 370 BCE, is the author of the most important botanical works that have survived from classical antiquity. He was in turn student, collaborator, and successor of Aristotle. Like his predecessor he was interested in all aspects of human knowledge and experience, especially natural science. His writings on plants form a counterpart to Aristotle’s zoological works.
In the Enquiry into Plants, Theophrastus classifies and describes varieties—covering trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and cereals; in the last of the nine books he focuses on plant juices and medicinal properties of herbs.
Enquiry into Plants
Book 1: Of the Parts of Plants and Their Composition; Of Classification
Introductory: How plants are to be classified; difficulty of defining what are the essential ‘parts’ of a plant, especially if plants are assumed to correspond to animals
The essential parts of plants, and the materials of which they are made
Definitions of the various classes into which plants may be divided
Exact classification impracticable: other possible bases of classification
Differences as to appearance and habitat
Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, whether general, special, or seen in qualities and properties
Differences as to qualities and properties
Further special differences
Differences in root
Of trees (principally) and their characteristic special differences: as to knots
As to habit
As to shedding of leaves
Differences in leaves
Composition of the various parts of a plant
Differences in seeds
Differences in taste
Differences in flowers
Differences in fruits
General differences (affecting the whole plant)
Book 2: Of Propagation, Especially of Trees
Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. Instances of degeneration from seed
Effects of situation, climate, tendance
Of spontaneous changes in the character of trees, and of certain marvels
Of spontaneous and other changes in other plants
Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation
Of the propagation of the date-palm; of palms in general
Further notes on the propagation of trees
Of the cultivation of trees
Of remedies for the shedding of the fruit: caprification
Book 3: Of Wild Tubes
Of the ways in which wild trees originate
Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees
Of mountain trees: of the differences found in wild trees
Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as compared with cultivated, trees
Of the seasons of budding
Of the comparative rate of growth in trees, and of the length of their roots
Of the effects of cutting down the whole or part of a tree
Of other things borne by trees besides their leaves flowers and fruit
Of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in trees: the oak as an example of this and other differences
Of the differences in firs
Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, lime
Of maple and ash
Of cornelian cherry, cornel, ‘cedars,’ medlar, thorns, sorb
Of bird-cherry, elder, willow
Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, bladder-senna]
Of filbert, terebinth, box, krataigos
Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, wig-tree
Of cork-oak, kolatea, koloitia, and of certain other trees peculiar to particular localities
Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, withy, Christ’s thorn, bramble, sumach, ivy, smilax, [spindle-tree]
Book 4: Of the Trees and Plants Special to Particular Districts and Positions
Of the importance of position and climate
Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob
Of the trees and shrubs special to Libya
Of the trees and herbs special to Asia
Of the plants special to northern regions
Of the aquatic plants of the Mediterranean
Of the aquatic plants of the ‘outer sea’ (i.e. Atlantic, Persian Gulf, etc.)
Of the plants of rivers, marshes, and lakes, especially in Egypt
Of the plants peculiar to the lake of Orchomenos (Lake Copaïs), especially its reeds, and of reeds in general
Of rushes
Of the length or shortness of the life of plants, and the causes
Of diseases and injuries done by weather conditions
Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heartwood, roots, etc.; of various causes...
Theophrastus of Eresus in Lesbos, born about 370 BCE, is the author of the most important botanical works that have survived from classical antiquity. He was in turn student, collaborator, and successor of Aristotle. Like his predecessor he was interested in all aspects of human knowledge and experience, especially natural science. His writings on plants form a counterpart to Aristotle’s zoological works.
In the Enquiry into Plants, Theophrastus classifies and describes varieties—covering trees, plants of particular regions, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and cereals; in the last of the nine books he focuses on plant juices and medicinal properties of herbs.
Enquiry into Plants
Book 1: Of the Parts of Plants and Their Composition; Of Classification
Introductory: How plants are to be classified; difficulty of defining what are the essential ‘parts’ of a plant, especially if plants are assumed to correspond to animals
The essential parts of plants, and the materials of which they are made
Definitions of the various classes into which plants may be divided
Exact classification impracticable: other possible bases of classification
Differences as to appearance and habitat
Characteristic differences in the parts of plants, whether general, special, or seen in qualities and properties
Differences as to qualities and properties
Further special differences
Differences in root
Of trees (principally) and their characteristic special differences: as to knots
As to habit
As to shedding of leaves
Differences in leaves
Composition of the various parts of a plant
Differences in seeds
Differences in taste
Differences in flowers
Differences in fruits
General differences (affecting the whole plant)
Book 2: Of Propagation, Especially of Trees
Of the ways in which trees and plants originate. Instances of degeneration from seed
Effects of situation, climate, tendance
Of spontaneous changes in the character of trees, and of certain marvels
Of spontaneous and other changes in other plants
Of methods of propagation, with notes on cultivation
Of the propagation of the date-palm; of palms in general
Further notes on the propagation of trees
Of the cultivation of trees
Of remedies for the shedding of the fruit: caprification
Book 3: Of Wild Tubes
Of the ways in which wild trees originate
Of the differences between wild and cultivated trees
Of mountain trees: of the differences found in wild trees
Of the times of budding and fruiting of wild, as compared with cultivated, trees
Of the seasons of budding
Of the comparative rate of growth in trees, and of the length of their roots
Of the effects of cutting down the whole or part of a tree
Of other things borne by trees besides their leaves flowers and fruit
Of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in trees: the oak as an example of this and other differences
Of the differences in firs
Of beech, yew, hop-hornbeam, lime
Of maple and ash
Of cornelian cherry, cornel, ‘cedars,’ medlar, thorns, sorb
Of bird-cherry, elder, willow
Of elm, poplars, alder, [semyda, bladder-senna]
Of filbert, terebinth, box, krataigos
Of certain other oaks, arbutus, andrachne, wig-tree
Of cork-oak, kolatea, koloitia, and of certain other trees peculiar to particular localities
Of the differences in various shrubs—buckthorn, withy, Christ’s thorn, bramble, sumach, ivy, smilax, [spindle-tree]
Book 4: Of the Trees and Plants Special to Particular Districts and Positions
Of the importance of position and climate
Of the trees special to Egypt, and of the carob
Of the trees and shrubs special to Libya
Of the trees and herbs special to Asia
Of the plants special to northern regions
Of the aquatic plants of the Mediterranean
Of the aquatic plants of the ‘outer sea’ (i.e. Atlantic, Persian Gulf, etc.)
Of the plants of rivers, marshes, and lakes, especially in Egypt
Of the plants peculiar to the lake of Orchomenos (Lake Copaïs), especially its reeds, and of reeds in general
Of rushes
Of the length or shortness of the life of plants, and the causes
Of diseases and injuries done by weather conditions
Of the effects on trees of removing bark, head, heartwood, roots, etc.; of various causes...
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 301
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About the author
Theophrastus
386 books45 followersTheophrastus (Greek: Θεόφραστος; c. 371 – c. 287 BC), a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death, he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings and designated him as his successor at the Lyceum. Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for thirty-six years, during which time the school flourished greatly. He is often considered the "father of botany" for his works on plants. After his death, the Athenians honoured him with a public funeral. His successor as head of the school was Strato of Lampsacus.
The interests of Theophrastus were wide ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants[2] and On the Causes of Plants, were an important influence on medieval science. There are also surviving works On Moral Characters, On Sensation, On Stones, and fragments on Physics and Metaphysics. In philosophy, he studied grammar and language and continued Aristotle's work on logic. He also regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, time as an accident of motion, and motion as a necessary consequence of all activity. In ethics, he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue and famously said that "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom."
The interests of Theophrastus were wide ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants[2] and On the Causes of Plants, were an important influence on medieval science. There are also surviving works On Moral Characters, On Sensation, On Stones, and fragments on Physics and Metaphysics. In philosophy, he studied grammar and language and continued Aristotle's work on logic. He also regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, time as an accident of motion, and motion as a necessary consequence of all activity. In ethics, he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue and famously said that "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom."
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 2, 2015
A massive book on botany. A book to keep if you're planning on planting your own food or venturing out into the wild to see the uncultivated nature of plants. Theophrastus writes analytically, which might seem boring, but the content is brilliant and well-researched.
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December 14, 2010Must read for botanists.
December 31, 2022
A surprisingly interesting book. It makes you wonder what other gems were also in the Lyceum’s library but got lost to time.
July 17, 2014
A compendium of plants, cultivated or uncultivated, and their uses, of the Ancient Greek world. Theophrastus wrote "the differences between plants must be observed in these particulars, since taken together they shew forth the general character of each plant".
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews