Restio, Pl. 804 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

The Cape reed Restio, a genus of rush-like plants endemic to the South African fynbos, drawn by Henri Joseph Redouté with his characteristic botanical precision.

After Henri Joseph Redouté; engraved by Robert Bénard. Botanique, Plate 804, 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. Henri Joseph Redouté contributed numerous botanical drawings to the project, documenting Cape flora species then newly introduced to European science.

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