John Ray (Joannes Rajus)
The first such work of Ray's was his contribution of the Tables of Plants to Dr John Wilkins's Real Character and a Philosophical Language, published in 1669, which has already been mentioned in the course of this lecture ([p. 21]). The following is a summary of Ray's first attempt at a system of classification. He begins by distinguishing Herbs, Shrubs, and Trees. Proceeding to the detailed classification of Herbs, he divides them into Imperfect "which either do want or seem to want some of the more essential parts of Plants, viz. either Root, Stalk, or Seed," the Cryptogamia of Linnaeus; and Perfect "having all the essential parts belonging to a Plant." The Perfect Herbs are arranged in three main groups according to (1) their leaves, (2) their flowers, (3) their seed-vessel, each group being subdivided in various ways.
- Herbs considered according to their Leaves:
- With long Leaves:
- Frumentaceous, "such whose seed is used by men for food, either Bread, Pudding, Broth, or Drink" (Cereals): or Non-Frumentaceous (other Grasses, Sedges, Reeds).
- Gramineous Herbs of Bulbous Roots (Bulbous Monocotyledons).
- Herbs of Affinity to Bulbous Roots (other Monocotyledons).
- Herbs of Round Leaves (e.g. Petasites, Viola, Pinguicula, Drosera).
- Herbs of Nervous Leaves (e.g. Veratrum, Plantago, Gentiana, Polygonum).
- Succulent Herbs (Sedum, Saxifraga).
- "Herbs considered according to the Superficies of their Leaves, or their Manner of Growing":
- more rough (e.g. Borago, Anchusa, Echium):
- less rough (e.g. Pulmonaria, Symphytum, Heliotropium):
- stellate leaves (e.g. Asparagus, Galium).
- With long Leaves:
- Herbs considered according to their Flowers:
"having no seed-vessel besides the Cup which covers the flower":
- Herbs of Stamineous Flowers, "whose flower doth consist of threddy
Filaments or Stamina, having no leaves besides the Perianthium: or
those herbaceous leaves encompassing these stamina, which do not
wither or fall away before the seed is ripe"; and not of grassy leaves,
may be distributed into such whose seeds are
- Triangular (Polygonaceae);
- Round: "distinguishable by sex, of male and female; because from the same seed some plants are produced which bear flowers and no seeds, and others which bear seeds and no flowers" (e.g. Cannabis, Humulus, Mercurialis): not distinguishable by sex (e.g. Chenopodiaceae, Urticaceæ, Resedaceae).
- Herbs having a Compound Flower not Pappous (Compositae).
- Pappous Herbs (Compositae).
- Umbelliferous Herbs (Umbelliferae, with Valeriana).
- Verticillate Fruticose Herbs (Labiatae).
- Verticillate Not Fruticose Herbs (Labiatae).
- Spicate Herbs (a curious medley, including Dipsacus, Eryngium, Echinops, Agrimonia, Circaea, Poterium Sanguisorba, Polygonum Persicaria, Trifolium stellatum, T. arvense, and Potamogeton angustifolium).
- Herbs bearing Many Seeds together in a Cluster or Button (e.g. Geum, Potentilla, Anemone, Ranunculus, Adonis, Malva).
- Herbs of Stamineous Flowers, "whose flower doth consist of threddy
Filaments or Stamina, having no leaves besides the Perianthium: or
those herbaceous leaves encompassing these stamina, which do not
wither or fall away before the seed is ripe"; and not of grassy leaves,
may be distributed into such whose seeds are
- Herbs considered according to their Seed-vessel:
- Of a divided Seed-vessel, which may be called Corniculate (Paeonia, Dictamnus, Delphinium, Aquilegia, Aconitum, Geranium, Scandix).
- Of an entire Seed-vessel:
- Siliquous:
- Papilionaceous Climbing Herbs (Papilionaceae).
- Papilionaceous Herbs not Climbing (Papilionaceae).
- Not papilionaceous (mostly Cruciferae).
- Capsulate:
- bearing Flowers of Five Leaves (Caryophyllaceae, Hypericaceae, Euphorbia, Linum, Lysimachia, Ruta, Nigella).
- whose flowers consist of three or four Leaves (some Cruciferae, Epimedium, Papaver, Verbena, Statice, Veronica).
- Campanulate Herbs:
- Not campanulate (Primulaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Acanthaceae, Aristolochia, Vinca).
- Bacciferous herbs:
- may be distinguished according to their Qualities:
- Or Manner of Growth:
- Siliquous:
Of Shrubs.
- I. Bacciferous Spinous Shrubs of Deciduous Leaves
- (the genera Rubus and Rosa, Gooseberry, Sloe, Barberry, Rhamnus, Lycium).
- II. Bacciferous Shrubs of Deciduous Leaves, not Spinous
- (Vine, Currant, Bilberry, Viburnum, White Beam, Cornus, Prunus Padus, P. Mahaleb, Diospyros, Honeysuckle, Pepper, Daphne, Euonymus, Privet, Salicornia).
- III. Bacciferous Sempervirent Shrubs
- (Rhamnus Alaternus, Phillyraea, Arbutus, Daphne Laureola, Ruscus, Chamaerops humilis, Laurustinus, Juniper, Myrtle, Ivy, Mistletoe).
- IV. Siliquous Shrubs
- (Lilac, Cytisus, Colutea, Ulex, Genista, Mimosa).
- V. Graniferous Deciduous Shrubs
- (Vitex, Spiraea, Tamarix, Jasminum, Althaea, Elaeagnus, Clematis, Ampelopis).
- VI. Graniferous Evergreen Shrubs
- (Cistus, Oleander, Rosemary, Phlomis fruticosa, Erica, &c.).
Of Trees.
- I. Pomiferous Trees (Apple, Pear, &c., Sorbus, Fig, Pomegranate, Orange, Lemon, Banana).
- II. Pruniferous Trees (Peach, Plum, Cherry, &c., Olive, Date, Jujube).
- III. Bacciferous Trees (Mulberry, Elder, Sumach, Celtis, Bay, Yew, Holly, Box, &c.).
- IV. Nuciferous Trees (Walnut, Almond, Hazel, Castanea, Beech, Coco-Palm, Coffee, Cocoa, Cotton).
- V. Glandiferous and Coniferous Trees (Oak, Alder, Larch, Cedar, Pine, Spruce, Cypress).
- VI. Trees bearing their Seeds in Single Teguments or Coverings (Carob, Tamarind, Elm, Hornbeam, Maple, Poplar, Willow, Lime, Plane).
- VII. Trees considered according to their Woods or Barks (Lignum Vitae, Snakewood, Sandal-wood, Log-wood, Cinnamon, Cinchona, &c.).
- VIII. Trees considered according to their Gumms or Rosins (Myrrh, Gum Arabic, Copal, Benzoin, Liquidambar, Camphor).
Such is the classification of which Morison spoke so slightingly in the Dialogus: though the character of the leaf is not made so much of as his criticism implied. There is no need to dwell upon the strained relations that arose between Ray and Morison; it may suffice to say that Morison laid himself open to the charge of jealousy, and that Ray never forgave the criticisms, both written and oral, that Morison had made on him. Those who are interested in the unfortunate quarrel will find an account of it, with a most loyal apology for Morison, in Blair's Botanical Essays (1720). Ray may certainly be acquitted of plagiarism which is suggested by Blair, for he had no opportunity of studying Morison's system in its entirety: since, as already explained, it was not published in a complete form until the appearance of the Sciagraphia in 1720, long after Ray's death. When Ray wrote the Tables of Plants for Dr Wilkins, not even the Preludia Botanica had been published: the only work that he produced after the publication of both parts of Morison's Historia was the last edition of his Methodus Plantarum (1703) which displays principles of classification of which Morison had no conception.