View source for History of plant systematics

The '''history of plant systematics'''&mdash;the [[biological classification]] of [[plant]]s&mdash;stretches from the work of ancient Greek to modern [[evolutionary biology|evolutionary biologists]].  As a field of science, plant systematics came into being only slowly, early plant lore usually being treated as part of the study of medicine.  Later, classification and description was driven by [[natural history]] and [[natural theology]]. Until the advent of [[evolution]], nearly all classification was based on the [[scala naturae]].  The professionalization of botany in the 18th and 19th century marked a shift toward more holistic classification methods, eventually based on evolutionary relationships.