The origins of botanical art -- Leonardo da Vinci -- Early works of the sixteenth century -- Jacopo Ligozzi -- Seventeenth-century florilegia -- Dutch flower paintings -- North American plants -- Linnaeus and plant classification -- Travellers to the Levant -- Maria Sybilla Merian -- The exploration of Russia and Japan -- Les vélins du muséum -- Botany bay and beyond -- Sir Joseph Banks -- The golden age in England -- Mrs Delany and her paper mosaicks -- South American adventures -- Thornton's the temple of flora, or garden of nature -- The golden age in France -- Empress Joséphine -- Botanical and horticultural illustrated journals -- Henry C. Andrews -- Early Chinese plant drawings -- Père David and the French missionaries -- The company school in India -- The story of Flora Danica 1761-1883 -- A new era at Kew -- George Maw -- Victorian travellers -- Elwes and the genus Lilium -- Bringing China to Europe -- Modern florilegia -- The flowers of war and beyond -- Exhibiting botanical watercolours -- Carrying on the tradition.