Author:
Jan Scholten
Book:
Qjurement
Type:
Theory
Chapter:
Gaspard Bauhin
Names: Caspar Bauhin, Latin: Casparus Bauhinus
Gaspard Bauhin was a Swiss botanist who lived from 1560 to 1624. His publication in 1596 Phytopinax described thousands of plants and classified them in a manner that draws comparisons to the later binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus.
The Pinax theatri botanici (English, Illustrated exposition of plants) is a landmark of botanical history, describing some 6,000 species and classifying them.
The classification system used traditional groups such as "trees", "shrubs", and "herbs", and other characteristics such as utilization, for instance spices. He did correctly group grasses, legumes, and several others.
His most important contribution is in the description of genera and species. Bauhin already used binomial names but did not consistently give all species throughout the work binomials. He introduced many names of genera that were later adopted by Linnaeus, and remain in use.