New Genera of American Plants

with a boyish but swift step, I was drawn toward the sea and the countryside; as a young man, I delighted in remote cliffs and frequented the seashore alone; at last, the forests and cool groves separated me from my companions. For God, indeed God, was calling me, wishing for me to leap beyond the boundaries of my homeland and fly toward the American islands The "American islands" refers to the West Indies/Caribbean, where Plumier conducted his primary research., having traversed these twice and thrice. I learned through the greatest labors and dangers (with the divine power always protecting me) what this land finally produces; and, with that same supreme power favoring me, I shall most gladly grant that knowledge to the curious. Meanwhile, I intended to offer a Catalog of all the plants and all the living creatures that I drew and described during my three journeys from the year 1689 to the year 1697 for the initial consideration of botanists original: Botano-philis and the curious. Indeed, I delayed, but this delay brought benefits rather than harm. For our great Tournefort Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) was a French botanist whose system of classification was the most influential prior to Linnaeus. Plumier refers to him as a "lighthouse" (Pharos) of the field. brought aid to my desires—he is truly the most faithful lighthouse of all Botany. With the torch of his Botanical Institutions shining across the immense sea of plants, no further error is to be feared in recognizing the differences between plants—at least for him who wishes to enjoy such light and to preserve the laws of those institutions undiminished. With these as guides, the seeker will by no means mistake water-mint for mint, or basil for wild thyme. original: sisymbrium pro mentha, aut ocimum pro serpillo Relying on the safeguard of these Institutions, I was able to judge correctly what kinds of plants I discovered in the American Islands—whether they were of a known or an unknown genus. Previously, following the errors of earlier botanists, I called a certain plant "hops" original: lupulum because it was climbing like our native hops and had leaves almost like those of hops; yet I had taken no account of its flowers or fru—

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