Bougainvillea and Melicope, Pl. 294 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

Two genera named for French explorers — Bougainvillea for Louis Antoine de Bougainville and Melicope recorded from Pacific voyages — paired in a plate that reflects the global reach of French natural history.

After Fossier; engraved by Robert Bénard. Botanique, Plate 294, from the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Published in Paris, 1793.

The Encyclopédie Méthodique expanded upon Diderot and d'Alembert's original Encyclopédie, reorganising knowledge into subject-specific dictionaries with thousands of newly commissioned plates. Its Botanique section, overseen by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, remains a landmark of Enlightenment-era plant taxonomy and scientific illustration.

Copperplate engraving on laid paper, approximately 29.7 × 21.6 cm. Very Good.