Some of the earliest plant images in Western history are found in Karnak, Egypt, on the walls of the Temple of Thutmose III. The representations consist of groups of plants in bas-relief, and date from around 1500 BC. Image #1 is a fresco from a tomb at Thebes from the 18th Dynasty which dated from 1580-1314 BC. There is clear differentiation of species is this "Garden with Fish Pond," and an interesting attempt to show trees, bushes, water plants, fish and birds, all in elevation. The Roman, Pliny the Elder mentions the existence of herbals in the first century AD, and plant classification had already begun by the time the Greek, Pedianous Dioskurides (circa AD 40-90) produced the herbal entitled in Latin, De Materia Medica (Image #2). Apuleius Platonicus documented herbal remedies (Image #3) in the year AD 400. This work was copied and passed down, and in the 10th century was translated into Anglo-Saxon. These early herbals were very important to the healing professions to prevent mistakes and to teach the art of healing. By the 16th century the illustrations had become sophisticated to the extent of showing the various seasons and stages of a plant's life simultaneously. This drawing (Image #4) by Leonhart Fuchs, 1542, shows a young and mature plant, as well as flower and seeds at the same time. The Dutch and Flemish Schools of painting chose flowers as frequent subjects. The Dutch East India Company was bringing new species, including the tulip, to the lowlands. Jan Brueghel the Elder painted this vase of flowers circa 1617 (Image #5). By the early 1700's these floral still lifes had begun to tell stories beyond showing the novelty of new species as seen in this "Still-Life with a Snake" by Rachel Ruysch (Image #6). At the turn of the century we find Claude Aubriet producing engravings for Joseph Pitton de Tournefort's Elements de Botanique, published in 1694. (Image #7). Aubriet developed techniques for illustrating very tall plants as well as the roots, buds and seeds. In the mid 1700s Carl (Carol) LinnŽ or Linneaeus (1707-1778) developed the plant classification system which remains in use today based upon the sexual parts of the plants. Previous systems were based upon numbers of petals and other factors that were fairly ambiguous. A prodigious illustrator, Dr. Robert John Thornton, produced a huge folio around the beginning of the 1800's called " The Sexual System of Linneaus and the Temple of Flora" (Image #8). Notice the structure in the background and the full moon in this interpretation of "The Night-Blooming Cerus (Cactus Grandiflorus)." There appears to be pressure to utilize artistic license as well as portray the botanical reality. Augusta Innes Withers and others produced great folios in the 1830's which had became very popular in England. The hand colored lithographs, such as this "Datura" (Image #9) were striking as well as accurate. The late 1800s saw the rise of the botanical magazines and the continued growth of the popularity of horticultural societies, especially in England. The early 20th Century fostered a proliferation of styles from this softly colored "House-Leek" by J.R.G Gwatkin (Image #10) to this 1927 wood engraving by John Nash (Image #11). The advent of photography afforded an entirely new approach to the imaging of plant material. The realism of photography is also its limitation. Where the illustrator can portray the perfect plant with buds, flowers, and seeds simultaneously, the plant photographer must deal with the impact of insects and the seasons on the subject matter. Modern artists have also chosen to portray plants, but with their beauty rather than their botanical nature in mind. The flowers of Georgia O'Keeffe and the corn lilies of John Sexton are two examples. The line between art and illustration in the imaging of plants is a topic that begs for discussion, but is beyond our task at hand. The history of plant illustration portrays a wide variety of styles and approaches. The uses of those images have remained relatively stable with the main purposes being botanical study, herbal medicine, and presentation of horticultural opportunity. It is this latter purpose which is the focus of our project at UNM.