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Chelsea Physic Garden
The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the science of healing, is among the oldest botanical gardens in Britain, after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Its rock garden is the oldest in Europe devoted to alpine plants and Mediterranean plants. The garden has high brick walls which trap heat, giving it a warm micro-climate, and it claims the largest fruiting olive tree in Britain and the world's northernmost grapefruit growing outdoors. Jealously guarded during the tenure of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, the garden became a Charitable organization, registered charity in 1983 and was opened to the general public for the first time. The garden is a member of the London Museums of Health & Medicine. It is also Grade I listed in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western postal area. Chelsea historically formed a manor and parish in the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex, which became the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea in 1900. It merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Kensington, forming the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea upon the creation of Greater London in 1965. The exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices historically resulted in the coining of the term "Sloane Ranger" in the 1970s to describe some of its residents, and some of those of nearby areas. Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside the United States, with 6.53% of Chelsea residents having been born in the U.S. History Early history The word ''Chelsea'' (also formerly ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Sloane
Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector. He had a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library, and the Natural History Museum, London. Elected to the Royal Society at the age of 24, Sloane travelled to the Caribbean in 1687 and documented his travels and findings with extensive publications years later. Sloane was a renowned medical doctor among the aristocracy, and was elected to the Royal College of Physicians at age 27. Though he is credited with the invention of chocolate milk, it is more likely that he learned the practice of adding milk to drinking chocolate while living and working in Jamaica. Streets and places were later named after him, including Hans Place, Hans Crescent, and Sloane Square in and around Chelsea, London—the area of his final residence—and also Sir Hans Sloane Square in K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (London), Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road. The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The museum is a centre of research specialising in Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin. The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a ''cathedral of nature''—both exemplified by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Blackwell (illustrator)
Elizabeth Blackwell (born 23 April 1699 in Aberdeen –1758) was a botanical illustrator best known as drawer and engraver of the plates for ''A Curious Herbal'', published between 1737 and 1739. It illustrated medicinal plants in a reference work for the use of physicians and apothecaries. Life Elizabeth Simpson was the daughter of the painter Leonard Simpson. As a young woman, she was educated in art, music, and languages, and she would have received a substantial dowry from her father. Simpson married Alexander Blackwell, as he was completing his education at Marischal College. She fled Aberdeen when questions arose regarding his qualifications. In fear that he could be charged for illegal practice, they moved to London. Accounts record that she studied as a midwife with William Smellie, but did not pursue this career due to 'the ignorance and low character of the women who at that time followed the same calling'. He continued his questionable decision-making i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Rand
Isaac Rand (1674–1743) was an English botanist and apothecary, who was a lecturer and director at the Chelsea Physic Garden. Life Isaac was probably son of James Rand, who in 1674 agreed, with thirteen other members of the Society of Apothecaries, to build a wall round the Chelsea Botanical Garden. Isaac Rand was already an apothecary practising in the Haymarket, London, in 1700. The year of his death is given by Dawson Turner as 1743 (Richardson Correspondence, p. 125); but he was succeeded in the office of demonstrator by Joseph Miller in 1738 or 1740. Works In Leonard Plukenet's ''Mantissa,'' published in that year, he is mentioned as the discoverer, in Tothill Fields, Westminster, of the plant now known as ''Rumex palustris'', and was described (p. 112) as "stirpium indagator diligentissimus ... pharmacopœus Londinensis, et magnæ spei botanicus.' He seems to have paid particular attention to inconspicuous plants, especially in the neighbourhood of London. Thus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catharanthus Roseus
''Catharanthus roseus'', commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to Madagascar, but is grown elsewhere as an ornamental and medicinal plant, and now has a pantropical distribution. It is a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer. It was formerly included in the genus ''Vinca'' as ''Vinca rosea''. It has many vernacular names among which are ''arivotaombelona'' or ''rivotambelona'', ''tonga'', ''tongatse'' or ''trongatse'', ''tsimatiririnina'', and ''vonenina''. Taxonomy Two varieties are recognized * ''Catharanthus roseus'' var. ''roseus'' : Synonymy for this variety ::''Catharanthus roseus'' var. ''angustus'' Steenis ex Bakhuizen f. :: ''Catharanthus roseus'' var. ''albus'' G.Don G.Don, Gen. Hist. 4(1): 95. 1837. :: ''Catharanthus roseus'' var. ''occellatus'' G.D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georgia (U
Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the female given name * Georgia (musician) (born 1990), English singer, songwriter, and drummer Georgia Barnes Places Historical polities * Kingdom of Georgia, a medieval kingdom * Kingdom of Eastern Georgia, a late medieval kingdom * Kingdom of Western Georgia, a late medieval kingdom * Georgia Governorate, a subdivision of the Russian Empire * Georgia within the Russian Empire * Democratic Republic of Georgia, a country established after the collapse of the Russian Empire and later conquered by Soviet Russia. * Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, a republic within the Soviet Union * Republic of Georgia (1990–1992), Republic of Georgia, a republic in the Soviet Union which, after the collapse of the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor percentages of waxes, fats, pectins, and water. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable, and durable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated to the fifth millennium BC have been found in the Indus Valley civilizat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hortus Botanicus Leiden
The Hortus botanicus of Leiden is the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It is located in the southwestern part of the historical centre of the city, between the Academy building and the old Leiden Observatory building. History In 1587 the young University of Leiden asked for permission from the mayor of Leiden to establish a ''hortus academicus'' behind the university building, for the benefit of the medical students. The request was granted in 1590, and the famous botanist Carolus Clusius (1526–1609) was appointed as prefect. Clusius arrived in Leiden in 1593. His knowledge, reputation, and international contacts allowed him to set up a very extensive plant collection. Clusius also urged the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to collect plants and (dried) plant specimens in the colonies. The original garden set up by Clusius was small (about 35 by 40 meters), but contained more than 1000 different plants. The collecting of tropic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Hermann (botanist)
Paul Hermann (30 June 1646, Halle – 29 January 1695, Leiden) was a German-born physician and botanist who for 15 years was director of the Hortus Botanicus Leiden. Born in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Paul Hermann was the son of Johann Hermann, a well-known organist, and Maria Magdalena Röber, a clergyman's daughter. Hermann studied theology and medicine in Wittenberg and botany in Leipzig. After graduating from Europe's finest medical school, Padua in 1670, he was then engaged by the Dutch East India Company and went to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) as a Ship's Medical Officer. He was in their employ from 1672 to 1677. During his stay there, he made a scientific collection of this island's plants and other organisms. He was then offered the job at Leiden and took up the Chair of Botany at the University of Leiden in 1679 and took up his residence in 1680 at Leiden where he spent the rest of his professional life. He immediately set to making it the finest botanical garden in Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Miller
Philip Miller Royal Society, FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botany, botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ''The Gardeners Dictionary''. Life Born in Deptford or Greenwich, Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death. According to the botanist Peter Collinson (botanist), Peter Collinson, who visited the physic garden in July 1764 and recorded his observation in his commonplace books, Miller "has raised the reputation of the Chelsea Garden so much that it excels all the gardens of Europe for its amazing variety of plants of all orders and classes and from all climates..." He wrote ''The Gardener's and Florists Dictionary or a Complete System of Horticulture'' (1724) and The Gardeners Dictionary, ''The Gardener's Dictionary containing the Methods of Cultivating and Im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ''exsiccatum'', plur. ''exsiccata'') but, depending upon the material, may also be stored in boxes or kept in alcohol or other preservative. The specimens in a herbarium are often used as reference material in describing plant taxon, taxa. Some specimens may be Type (botany), types, some may be specimens distributed in published series called exsiccata, exsiccatae. The term herbarium is often used in mycology to describe an equivalent collection of preserved fungi, otherwise known as a fungarium. A xylarium is a herbarium specialising in specimens of wood. The term hortorium (as in the Liberty Hyde Bailey, Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium) has occasionally been applied to a herbarium specialising in preserving material of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
