An Interpretation of Van Rheede's "Hortus Malabaricus"

About this book

Van Rheede tot Draakestein's Hortus Malabaricus is a 12-volume work, published 1678- 1693, with 793 double-folio plates and 1534 pages dealing with 742 plants growing around Cochin, Kerala State, India. Van Rheede's illustrations underlie names of many new genera and species described by Linnaeus and subsequent authors. It has been more than a century since a synthesis of what is known about Van Rheede's plants has been attempted. This is the first synthesis based on knowledge of the flora, recollection in the original area, and utilising expertise on the vernacular (Malayalam) names given by Van Rheede. For each of Van Rheede's taxa, treatments include: 1. the accepted name, 2. synonymy, both with references to places of original publication and, often, later publications using the name, 3. discussion, with information bearing on typification of names that cited Rheede in protologues, 4. comments on nomenclatural and taxonomic problems, 5. comments on the meanings of Van Rheede's and current vernacular names and 6. comments on the current frequency and habitat of the species. The 742 plants described and illustrated by Van Rheede represent about 690 taxa belonging to 143 families and 660 have been recollected in or near their original localities. Only one is left as incertae sedis.

Contents

Abstract
Preface
Introduction (The author / Spellings of the author's family name(s) / General title of the publication / Editions of Hortus Malabaricus / Contents of Hortus Malabaricus / Collaborators / Importance of the work / Earlier works on Hortus Malabaricus / Materials and methods / Acknowledgements)

- Division Bryophyta
- Division Lycopodiophyta
- Division Polypodiophyta
- Division Pinophyta
- Division Angiospermae (Magnoliophyta): Class Dicotyledoneae (Magnoliopsida), Class Monocotyledoneae (Liliopsida)
- Incertae Sedis

Bibliography
Index to Rheede by volume and plate numbers
Index to Malayalam names with binomials
Index to scientific names

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