Mabea, Pl. 773 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

The tropical spurge Mabea, a genus of the South American rainforest, depicted with the detailed dissections that made these plates essential for botanical identification.

After J. E. de Sève; engraved by Robert Bénard. Botanique, Plate 773, from the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Published in Paris, c. 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.