The First Flora of Poland

A flora is a publication containing a list of species of wild plants of a given region along with the information on their localities, descriptions of their morphology, and keys for their determination. Johannes Thal’s Sylva Hercynia is considered the first flora ever published. From the 18th century onwards, floras of entire Western European countries were being published. Opisanie roslin w prowincyi W. X. L. naturalnie rosnących według układu Linneusza (Description of plants in the province of the G[rand] D[uchy of] L[ithuania] naturally growing according to the Linnaeus system) by Stanisław Bonifacy Jundziłł was printed in 1791. It includes 1,297 species, comprising 1,052 flowering plants, 85 mosses, 64 fungi, 49 lichens, 34 ferns and 13 algae, and contains 97 localities from the then Polish part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and 198 from the then Lithuanian one. The species are arranged according to the Linnaeus system, and their descriptions are concise. Contrary to its title, Opisanie roslin covers both the territories of Lithuania and Poland, which is why it should also be considered the earliest modern flora of Poland. Opisanie roslin played an important role in the history of Polish botany, especially in the development of floristics in Poland and Lithuania in the early 19th century.