Tells the story of the first steps in collecting and recording Australian plants for science. It describes the history of scientific plant classification as well as the establishment of botanic gardens, herbaria and botanical science within Australia, and reveals the development of the art of illustrating plants and of the methods of reproducing those illustrations. With over 160 illustrations drawn from major herbaria and museums in both Europe and Australia, it provides a unique overview of the way in which Australia's plants have been depicted over three centuries.