What is a Florilegium?

The MSU Libraries holds many works containing the term florilegium, but what is that exactly?
In the simplest terms, a florilegium is, literally, a ‘flower book’; a picture book of flowers where the text or description is minor in comparison. Florilegia can be plant catalogs, albums, and showcases of flowers in a particular garden or region. They can be of all sizes, amateur to professional in construction and in quality of illustration. Early florilegia were often herbals and showcase books of private gardens. From the 1600s to present day, botanical artists were and are hired to record flowers and foliage so the owners could share the beauty with friends and occasionally, competitors! We are the fortunate ancestors of these works, for we have a record of the species and their availability that were grown at that place and time, plus, we can marvel at the artwork itself.

Florilegium title page — Florilegium, title page

Ink drawings of hyacinths, one flower head hand-painted purple

Illustrations of tulips — Ink drawings of tulips, one flower head hand-painted red and yellow

Colorized drawing of a crocus blossom in yellow, stems green — Colorized drawing of a crocus

Illustrations of herpatica — Line drawings and a colorized drawing of *Herpatica*

Florilegia are often praised for the exquisitely detailed flowers, but some also illustrate seeds, roots, and fruits. The famous entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian is best known for her Insects of Suriname, but many art critics also consider it (and her other works) as florilegia as the insects are drawn with their natural food or habitat of botanical species, which are just as lavishly and accurately illustrated.

Today, florilegium and botanical illustrators and artist societies are prevalent around the world. Despite photography, botanical illustration is still enjoyed by many for capturing color, detail, anatomy and placement of flowers onto paper, vellum, silk, and a multitude of other canvas types.

Open Highgrove Florilegium to page of purple irises. — The Highgrove Florilegium: Watercolours Depicting Plants Grown in the Garden at Highgrove

Watercolours of purple — Highgrove Florilegium: Iris

Watercolour of a white Magnolia and leaves — Highgrove Florilegium: Magnolia

Watercolor of the yellow-flowered Trollius from the Transylvania Florilegium — Watercolor of the yellow-flowered *Trollius*

Transylvania Florilegium open to the text and watercolor of the yellow-flowered Trollius — Transylvania Florilegium: Watercolours Depicting Plants Growing in Romania

Watercolor of a purple-flowered orchid from the Transylvania Florilegium — Watercolor of a purple-flowered orchid