Zamia, Pl. 802 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

The cycad Zamia, a living fossil whose palm-like form belies its ancient gymnosperm lineage, depicted with the anatomical precision that distinguishes this botanical series.

After J. E. de Sève; engraved by Robert Bénard. Botanique, Plate 802, 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. Excellent.