| Florid Descriptions, Erotic Allusions |
| by Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) |
| 'The
flowers' leaves... serve as bridal beds which the Creator has so gloriously
arranged, adorned with such noble bed curtains, and perfumed with
so many soft scents that the bridegroom with his bride might there
celebrate their nuptials with so much the greater solemnity. When
now the bed is so prepared, it is time for the bridegroom to embrace
his beloved bride and offer her his gifts.' 'The calyx is the bedchamber, the filaments the spermatic vessels, the anthers the testes, the pollen the sperm, the stigma the vulva, the style the vagina.' If Linnaeus's language (above) surprises you, try reading *Patricia Fara's Sex, Botany & Empire. It tells the story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks, and distils the dark side of early explorations. |
Cambridge, where she teaches history of science.
Publisher: Icon Books UK