Today we present more free vintage botanical artworks via the Biodiversity Heritage Library from a book called The New Botanic Garden published in 1812. No explanation is given as to the particular connection between this group of 133 plants, but in this post we give the first 46 from Acanthus to Dahlia. The ancient nature of the book denotes it is no longer in copyright and is now in the Public Domain. This means you can use these images as you wish, without attribution or worry. We have stripped the images from the book and included the original species names alongside current accepted taxonomic names (in brackets) as given by The Plant List and/or Catalogue of Life. For those interested in scientific naming of species, you will see how many of the names are now a synonym of the current accepted species name. Likewise, the common plant name or spelling given in the book (shown after the scientific name below), will not be the one most often used today, if at all. Unlike scientific names, there are no conventions or centralised records for remembering common names, so some names just get forgotten and are replaced by others. A few of them may not even be traceable via Google. In future posts we will look at some suggestions as to how these vintage prints can be used for new botanic art forms.
Click to obtain enlarged image.
Acanthus mollis (Acanthus mollis L.) – Smooth Bears Breech
Asclepias tuberosa (Asclepias tuberosa L.) – Orange Apocynum
Agrostemma coronaria (Silene coronaria (Desr.) Clairv. ex Rchb.) – Rose Campion
Anchusa officinalis (Anchusa officinalis L. ) – Officinal Bugloss
Aquilegia canadensis (Aquilegia canadensis L. ) – Canadian Columbine
Actaea racemosa (Actaea racemosa L) – American Herb Christopher
Agapanthus umbellatus (Agapanthus africanus (L.) Hoffmanns) – African Agapanthus
Asphodelus luteus (Asphodeline lutea (L.) Rchb.) – Yellow Asphodel
Anemone hortensis (Anemone hortensis L. )- Star Anemone
Albuca minor (Albuca canadensis (L.) F.M.Leight.) – Lesser Albuca
Arbutus unedo (Arbutus unedo L.)- Strawberry Tree
Alyssum saxatila (Aurinia saxatilis (L.) Desv) – Yellow Alyssum
Anthericum liliastrum (Paradisea liliastrum (L.) Bertol.) – Savoy Anthericum
Amaryllis formosissima (Sprekelia formosissima (L.) Herb.) – Jacobean Amaryllis
Aster amellus (Aster amellus L.) – Italian Aster
Amaranthus hypochondriacus (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) – Prince’s Feather
Apocynum androsaemifolium (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.) – Fly-Catching Dog’s Bane
Antirrhinum purpureum (Antirrhinum purpureum L.) – Purple Toad-Flax
Argemone mexicana (Argemone mexicana L.) – Mexican Argemone
Azalea nudiflora coccinea (unresolved name) – Scarlet Azalea
Bignonia radicans (Campsis radicans (L.) Seem.) – Ash-Leaved Trumpet Flower
Butomus umbellatus (Butomus umbellatus L.) – Flowering Rush
Bupleurum fruticosum (Bupleurum fruticosum L.)- Shrubby Hare’s Ear
Bulbocodium vernum (Colchicum bulbocodium Ker Gawl.) – Spring Bulbocodium
Blitum capitalum (Chenopodium capitatum (L.) Asch.) – Berry-Headed Strawberry-Blite
Calla aethiopica (Zantedeschia aethiopica (L.) Spreng.) – Aethiopia Calla
Coronilla emeris (Hippocrepis emerus subsp. emerus (L.)Lassen) – Scorpion Senna
Calycanthus floridus (Calycanthus floridus L.) – Carolina Allspice
Colutea arborescens (Colutea arborescens L.) – Common Bladder Senna
Ceanothus americanus (Ceanothus americanus L.) – New Jersey tea-tree
Campanula rapunculoides (Campanula rapunculoides L.) – Nettle-leaved Campanula
Crepis barbata (Crepis foetida L.) – Yellow Hawkweed
Convolvulus tricolor (Convolvulus tricolor L.)- Small Blue Convovulus
Chelone obliqua (Chelone obliqua L.) – Red Flowered Chelone
Colchicum autumnale (Colchicum autumnale L.)- Autumnal Crocus
Catananche carulea (Catananche caerulea L.)- Blue Catananche
Convallaria majalis (Convallaria majalis L.) – Lily of the Valley
Cerinthe major (Cerinthe major L.) – Great Honey Wort
Chelidonium glaucum (Glaucium flavum Crantz)- Yellow-Horned Poppy
Cistus ladaniferus (Cistus ladanifer L.)- Gum Cistus
Crassula coccinea (Crassula coccinea L.) – Scarlet-flowered Crassula
Cytisus laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides Medik.) – Laburnum
Cyclamen persicum (Cyclamen persicum Mill.) – Persian Cyclamen
Crocus vernus (Crocus vernus (L.) Hill) – spring crocus
Dahlia pinnata (Dahlia pinnata Cav.) – Purple Dahlia
Dahlia crocata (Dahlia coccinea Cav.) – Yellow Dahlia