Much like everything else on Earth, plants too are scientifically studied by Man and this study is known as botany.
Botany derives its name from a Greek word meaning ‘herbs’. Botanists study plants. So much of scientific research on plants is undertaken today in order to develop new medicines and a variety of new products from plants.
Botanists also play a significant role in designing and fashioning more and better plants for food. The diversity of plants on Earth is deteriorating and scientists are trying their best to save plants under threat.
Botanical research is not a recent development. Studies on plants and herbs existed in ancient Greece, India and China. Herbalists predominantly collected herbs and undertook research on their use as medicines. Therefore, Botany is one of the oldest sciences. In prehistoric times, primitive physicians and witch doctors were the first people to have studied plants for their medicinal properties.
Botany, in the earliest stages, was closely linked to medicine. However, as time passed, the study became a more exact science as people began to record their observations about plants. Charles Darvin, the nineteenth century English scientist, played an important role in the study of the evolution of plants. Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish scientist, invented the system of naming plants and this system is considered a landmark achievement in the history of botanical research. This system is still in use.
Today, botany is a much developed science with many branches specialized in a variety of aspects of plant life.
Picture Credit : Google
