Understanding Botanical Terminology: A Guide to Botanical Art, Painting, and Illustration

In this post, I share a list of terminologies that pertain to botanical painting. Some terms are more related to painting and watercolours while others are more botany-focused. Botanical art is the combination of art and science, that is one of the reasons it is so appealing to me. This post is meant to be ongoing, and I will continue to add to it.

Botanical Painting Terminology:

Botanical Art:

Botanical Art is a broad category that includes artistic works depicting plants or plant-related subjects, where the artist’s interpretation and creative expression play a significant role. While the artwork is inspired by the natural world, it may not necessarily aim to provide scientifically accurate details. Artistic elements like composition, colour, and style are emphasized, and the work may include backgrounds, stylized representations, or abstract elements.

Botanical Art prioritizes aesthetic appeal and creativity over strict scientific accuracy. It is more flexible in its approach and can include a range of styles, from realistic to impressionistic, making it distinct from the more precise and scientific focus of Botanical Illustration.

Botanical Painting:

Botanical Painting refers to a specific form of Botanical Art where the medium used is primarily paint, such as watercolour or gouache. The focus is on the depiction of plants, often with attention to detail, but like Botanical Art, it allows for artistic interpretation. The primary goal is to create a visually appealing representation of plant life, which may or may not be scientifically accurate.

Botanical Painting is a subset of Botanical Art, distinguished by the use of paint as the medium. While it can be highly detailed and realistic, it does not necessarily adhere to the strict scientific accuracy required in Botanical Illustration.

Botanical Illustration:

Botanical Illustration is a highly detailed, scientifically accurate depiction of plants, created to document and communicate the exact features of a plant species. It is often used in scientific publications, field guides, and herbals. The illustrations are typically rendered in a clear, precise manner, often without artistic embellishments or backgrounds, focusing solely on the plant’s structure, including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

Botanical Illustration is distinct from both Botanical Art and Botanical Painting in its strict adherence to scientific accuracy. The primary purpose is to serve as an informative and educational tool, rather than a work of art for aesthetic appreciation. The level of detail and accuracy required makes it a specialized field that requires both artistic skill and botanical knowledge.

Watercolor Botanical Paintings

Watercolour botanical paintings are created using transparent watercolour paints to depict plants with a delicate, luminous quality. This medium allows for subtle gradations of colour, layering of washes, and the use of negative space to create light effects. Watercolour is often used to capture the fine details and natural translucency of plants, resulting in paintings that feel light and ethereal.

Watercolour is known for its transparency and fluidity, which makes it ideal for capturing the delicate textures and translucent qualities of botanical subjects. Artists must work from light to dark, as the transparent layers cannot easily be corrected once applied. This technique emphasizes a soft, layered approach to colour and texture.

Gouache Botanical Paintings

Gouache botanical paintings are created using gouache paint, a type of opaque watercolour. Gouache allows for more vibrant and solid colour application, providing the ability to create bold, matte finishes with higher contrast. This medium is particularly effective for achieving rich detail and solid coverage, making it suitable for botanical paintings that require a more vivid, graphic representation of plants.

Unlike watercolour, gouache is opaque, allowing artists to work from dark to light and make corrections by layering lighter colours over darker ones. Gouache botanical paintings tend to have a more solid, less transparent appearance, with stronger colour saturation and the ability to create fine, crisp edges and details. This results in a more defined, illustrative quality compared to the softness of watercolour.

Line and Wash  Botanical Painting:

Line and Wash Painting in botanical painting is a technique that combines detailed ink or pencil line work with watercolour washes to create both structure and colour in the depiction of plants. The line work provides precise outlines and intricate details of the botanical subject, such as veins in leaves or the texture of stems, while the watercolour wash adds depth, shading, and realistic colour. This method allows for a balance between the clarity of line drawing and the fluidity of watercolour, resulting in a botanical artwork that is both scientifically informative and aesthetically pleasing.

Unlike pure watercolour painting, where colour and form are created solely with paint, Line and Wash Painting relies on the initial line drawing to define the structure and key details. The wash adds dimension and softness, enhancing the realism and vibrancy of the botanical subject. This technique is particularly useful in botanical art where both accuracy and artistic expression are valued.

Botany Terminology:

Plant Morphology:

Plant Morphology is the study of the form and structure of plants, including their external features such as leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and fruits. It focuses on the visible, physical characteristics of plants and how these structures vary across different species. This field often deals with the comparison and classification of plant forms and is essential in understanding plant evolution, development, and adaptation to different environments.

Plant Morphology is concerned with the outward appearance and structure of plants. It deals with features that can be observed with the naked eye or with basic magnification, such as leaf shape, flower structure, and root systems. It provides the foundational knowledge needed to identify and classify plants.

Plant Anatomy:

Plant Anatomy, also known as Phytotomy, is the study of the internal structure of plants at the microscopic level. It examines the tissues, cells, and other internal structures of plants, such as xylem, phloem, epidermis, and mesophyll. This field explores how these internal components are organized, how they function, and how they contribute to the overall physiology of the plant.

Plant Anatomy differs from Plant Morphology in that it focuses on the internal structures of plants rather than their external form. While Plant Morphology might study the shape and arrangement of leaves, Plant Anatomy would investigate the cellular structure of those leaves, the arrangement of cells, and the function of tissues like the vascular system. It requires more advanced tools, such as microscopes, to study these internal features.

Here's a list of basic botany anatomy terms along with their definitions:

1. Roots: The underground part of a plant that anchors it to the soil and absorbs water and nutrients.

2. Stem: The main structural axis of a plant that supports leaves, flowers, and fruits, and conducts water, nutrients, and photosynthetic products.

3. Leaves: The primary organs of photosynthesis in most plants, typically consisting of a flat, green blade attached to a stem.

4. Flower: The reproductive structure of angiosperms, usually containing male and female reproductive organs surrounded by colorful petals.

5. Petal: The often brightly colored part of a flower that attracts pollinators.

6. Sepal: The outermost whorl of a flower, usually green and protective of the flower bud.

7. Stamen: The male reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an anther and a filament.

8. Anther: The part of the stamen where pollen grains are produced.

9. Filament: The slender stalk that supports the anther in the stamen.

10. Pistil (or Carpel): The female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an ovary, stigma, and style.

11. Ovary: The enlarged basal portion of the pistil where ovules are produced.

12. Stigma: The receptive tip of the pistil where pollen lands during pollination.

13. Style: The slender stalk that connects the stigma to the ovary in the pistil.

14. Fruit: The mature ovary of a flowering plant, usually containing seeds and developing from the fertilized ovule after pollination.

15. Seed: The mature ovule containing an embryonic plant and stored nutrients, capable of developing into a new plant under suitable conditions.

Plant Taxonomy:

Taxonomy is the science of naming, defining, and classifying organisms. Plants are categorized using a hierarchical system that includes Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. For botanical artists, understanding these categories helps in correctly identifying and illustrating plant species.

Kingdom:
This is the highest level of classification and groups together large collections of organisms that share basic characteristics. There are five widely accepted kingdoms: Animalia (animals), Plantae (plants), Fungi, Protista (mostly unicellular organisms), and Monera (bacteria).

• Example: The common sunflower belongs to the Kingdom Plantae, which includes all plants.

Phylum:
Each kingdom is divided into phyla (plural of phylum). Organisms in a phylum share more specific characteristics compared to those in a kingdom. For example, in the Plant Kingdom, one phylum is Angiosperms, which includes all flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed within a fruit.

• Example: The sunflower belongs to the Phylum Angiosperms, which are flowering plants.

Class:
Phyla are further divided into classes. In the phylum Angiosperms, one class is Dicotyledonae (Dicots), which includes plants with two seed leaves (cotyledons) and broad leaves with net-like veins.

• Example: The sunflower belongs to the Class Dicotyledonae, which includes dicot plants.

Order:
Classes are divided into orders. In the class Dicotyledonae, one order is Asterales, which includes plants with composite flower heads made up of many small florets.

• Example: The sunflower belongs to the Order Asterales, known for composite flowers.

Family:
Orders are broken down into families, which group organisms that are more closely related. In the order Asterales, one family is Asteraceae, which is known as the daisy or sunflower family. This family includes plants with flower heads made up of many tiny flowers.

• Example: The sunflower belongs to the Family Asteraceae, also known as the daisy family.

Genus:
Families are subdivided into genera (plural of genus), which include species that are very closely related. In the family Asteraceae, one genus is Helianthus, which includes sunflowers.

• Example: The sunflower belongs to the Genus Helianthus, which includes sunflowers.

Species:
This is the most specific level of classification. A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. For example, Helianthus annuus is the species name for the common sunflower.

• Example: The common sunflower's Species is Helianthus annuus.

Plant nomenclature:

Plant nomenclature refers to the system of naming plants, which follows specific rules and conventions to ensure clarity and consistency in communication among botanists and plant enthusiasts worldwide. The basic principles of plant nomenclature include:

Binomial System: Plants are typically named using a binomial system, which means each plant species is assigned a two-part name. The first part is the genus, and the second part is the specific epithet or species name. For example, in the scientific name *Rosa canina*, "Rosa" is the genus, and "canina" is the specific epithet.

Genus: The genus is a group of closely related species that share common characteristics. It is always capitalized and italicized (or underlined when handwritten).

Specific Epithet: The specific epithet refers to a particular species within a genus. It is written in lowercase and italicized (or underlined when handwritten).

Author Citation: In scientific literature, the name of the person who first described the plant species is often included after the binomial name. The author citation provides credit to the individual who first formally documented and described the species.

Cultivar Names: Cultivated varieties or cultivars of plants often have additional names that indicate specific traits, such as flower color or growth habit. Cultivar names are not italicized and are enclosed in single quotes. For example, "Rosa 'Peace".

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN): The rules and guidelines for plant nomenclature are established and maintained by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). This code provides standardized procedures for naming, describing, and classifying plants.

Type Specimens: Each plant species is associated with a type specimen, which serves as a reference point for the species description. The type specimen is typically housed in a herbarium and consists of a physical specimen, such as a pressed plant, along with detailed documentation.

Priority Rule: According to the priority rule, the first validly published name for a plant species takes precedence over later names. If multiple names have been proposed for the same species, the earliest validly published name is considered the correct name.

By adhering to these principles and guidelines, botanists ensure that plant names are consistent, unique, and scientifically accurate, facilitating communication and research in the field of botany.

Example:

Let's take the example of the common daisy, a familiar flower found in many gardens. Here's how its common name and Latin name fit into the principles of plant nomenclature:

1. Common Name: Daisy

2. Latin Name: Bellis perennis

Explanation:

Common Name: "Daisy" is the everyday name used to refer to this flower.

Latin Name: Bellis perennis

  Genus: Bellis

  Specific Epithet: perennis

In this example:

Bellis is the genus name, referring to a group of plants that includes daisies.

perennis is the specific epithet, indicating the species within the genus. In this case, perennis means "perennial," describing the daisy's characteristic of being a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years.

So, the Latin name Bellis perennis adheres to the binomial system, where the genus (Bellis) is capitalized and the specific epithet (perennis) is lowercase, italicized, and describes a specific characteristic of the plant.