“Banksia serrata”
Sydney Parkinson, Botany Bay NSW, 1770
Melissa and I have been exploring Western Australia. Wildflowers and of course birds, have been high on the activity agenda. We have learnt many new things, one being how logically and scientifically named Australian flora and fauna seems, compared to other continents. This is largely due to influence of the visit of HMS Endeavour in 1770. Carl Linnaeus published his hierarchical classification for naming organisms (Domain, Kingdom, Phylus, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species), just a decade prior to the sailing of the Endeavour. Things are slow to change, and science is no exception. However, fate gave Australia a head start. Sailing with Banks and Cook was a young Swedish naturalist, Daniel Solander. Solander had been research assistant to Linnaeus during the critical years of his work. Linnaeus’s new nomenclature system was applied rigorously to the naming of the newly encountered Australian flora and fauna. #imterriblewithnames #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 