Florilegium - Celebrating Heritage & Beauty of Botanicals
/Our partners in South Africa have launched Africa’s first modern Florilegium. Why and what does that mean?
What is a Florilegium?
From the Latin flos (flower) and legere (to gather), it is literally a gathering of flowers (plural, florilegia). It can mean metaphorically a collection of excerpts and extracts from a larger body of writing, taking passages illustrating certain topics or themes, but in this case very much means a collection of work on flora.
The emergence of botanical illustration as a genre of art dates back to the 15th century, when books describing the culinary and medicinal uses of plants were printed containing illustrations of flowers. As printing techniques advanced, and new plants were brought to Europe from Ottoman Turkey in the 16th century, wealthy individuals and botanic gardens commissioned artists to record the beauty of these exotics in Florilegia, flourishing in the 17th century.
Florilegia are among the most lavish and expensive of books because of all the work required to produce a collection of botanically accurate paintings of plants, done as they are by botanical illustrators from life.
Why Create a Florilegium?
Modern florilegia seek to record collections of plants, often now endangered, from within a particular garden or place.
Our partners in South Africa are situated in one of the most biodiverse biomes on the planet, the Cape Floral Kingdom, home to an exceptional degree of flora endemism, to whose conservation they are committed.
The reserve is home to over 800 species of fynbos, for which it has served as a custodian of the precious region for 25 years. Never before has the special area and its flora been captured in a Florilegium before, indeed its the first modern one in all of Africa!
The Florilegium enables them to celebrate the beauty, fascination and wonder of their botanical heritage and conservation of the magnificent surroundings, with the artists depicting the flora and its insects, and share in a unique way, with the lodge and gallery visitors, and worldwide through books and digital distribution.
The florilegium aligns with our partner’s greater mission to change global thinking through educational and conservation-based initiatives. By growing a community of passionate individuals, others can be inspired to conservation and stewardship.
How did they Create the Florilegium?
The Florilegium is a global 5-year collaboration bringing together over 44 highly acclaimed local and international botanical artists passionate about telling stories through art.
The Florilegium represents nothing less than the best of the international botanical arts community: 35 celebrated artists from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Reunion and the United Kingdom lent their talent and expertise, and a further 9 come from countries including the Netherlands, Brazil, the USA, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Italy.
Artists work from live specimens to gain a deep understanding of each plant’s unique anatomical structure before applying their unique drawing skills. In the book, expect meticulous detailing of floral structures, bursting seed pods, brightly coloured beetles, foraging ants, floating pollen and striped field mice...coupled with scientific facts and narrative stories about each plant.
This is a florilegium immersed in the natural world, informed by ecology and the fragility of our botanical heritage. Each chapter includes an up-front ‘Wunderkammer’ of artists' notes, colour swatches, working drawings and archeological details, revealing a glimpse into the creative process and ancient origins of the area.
Together, they represent a unique perspective on the unique Cape fynbos.
Visit the Florilegium
Stay at our partner’s lodge and you visit the fynbos nature outside the door. But you can also book a half day Florilegium Tour, and visit the Hannarie Wenhold Botanical Art Gallery built on the Reserve, an innovative space dedicated to the Florilegium’s fine botanical artworks.
The initial exhibit showcases 124 fynbos rare, endangered and endemic species of the southern Overberg. A key distinguishing element of the florilegium is the inclusion of the pollinators and ‘friends of the fynbos’ in detailed accompanying vignettes to each plant portrait. These entomology details build on their Foundation’s ecological research. The entomology study in particular is the first study to document the insect world of the Agulhas Plain.
We’re sure you’ll agree, the Florilegium is utterly beautiful and stunning work to celebrate the heritage and conservation of the fynbos! Enquire to visit the reserve in South Africa >
