Plant seeds
Date
1674
Creator
Marcello Malpighi (1628 - 1694, Italian) , Physician
Object type
Archive reference number
Manuscript page number
p136r
Material
Dimensions
height (page): 320mm
width (page): 220mm
width (page): 220mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Sectional studies of seeds of various plant species in different stages of development, viewed under magnification. Including:
Figure 233 [upper row]: Seed of the almond tree, Prunus amygdalus, referred to by Malpighi as Amygdalo.
Figure 234 [central row]: Seed of the apple tree, Malus domestica, referred to as Pomo.
Figure 235 [lower left]: Seed of the pear tree, Pyrus, referred to as Piri.
Figure 236 [central row]: Seed of the cherry, Cerasum and plum tree Prunum, referred to as Cerasorum and Prunorum respectively.
Each drawn on an individual slip of paper and arranged on the page for printing. Inscribed: ‘Tab. XXXVIII’ in top right-hand corner.
Page 136 from MS/103/1, later published as Tab. XXXVIII in Marcello Malpighi's Anatome plantarum (1675).
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), Italian biologist and physician, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1669.
Figure 233 [upper row]: Seed of the almond tree, Prunus amygdalus, referred to by Malpighi as Amygdalo.
Figure 234 [central row]: Seed of the apple tree, Malus domestica, referred to as Pomo.
Figure 235 [lower left]: Seed of the pear tree, Pyrus, referred to as Piri.
Figure 236 [central row]: Seed of the cherry, Cerasum and plum tree Prunum, referred to as Cerasorum and Prunorum respectively.
Each drawn on an individual slip of paper and arranged on the page for printing. Inscribed: ‘Tab. XXXVIII’ in top right-hand corner.
Page 136 from MS/103/1, later published as Tab. XXXVIII in Marcello Malpighi's Anatome plantarum (1675).
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), Italian biologist and physician, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1669.
Object history
Marcello Malpighi’s research on the anatomy of plants was encouraged and supported by the Royal Society, as evidenced by correspondence between him and the then-Secretary, Henry Oldenburg FRS (1619-1677) in the 1660s and 1670s [MS/103/1].
An abstracted version of his work in this area was first read at a Society meeting on 7 December 1671 [JBO/4, pp.216-217]. The full manuscript of Anatome Plantarum, together with the frontispiece artwork and these plates, was received and read on 28 January 1674/75 [MS/103/1-2].
It was ordered for printing by the Society’s printer John Martin in June 1675 [CMO/1/221]. The published work consists of the text of Anatome Plantarum and De ovo incubato as an appendix, and 61 plates illustrating each [54 and 7 respectively].
An abstracted version of his work in this area was first read at a Society meeting on 7 December 1671 [JBO/4, pp.216-217]. The full manuscript of Anatome Plantarum, together with the frontispiece artwork and these plates, was received and read on 28 January 1674/75 [MS/103/1-2].
It was ordered for printing by the Society’s printer John Martin in June 1675 [CMO/1/221]. The published work consists of the text of Anatome Plantarum and De ovo incubato as an appendix, and 61 plates illustrating each [54 and 7 respectively].
Related fellows
Marcello Malpighi (1628 - 1694, Italian) , Physician
Associated place