Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen


Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen is a book by the botanist Robert Brown published in 1810, which deals with the flora of Australia. Often referred to as Prodromus Flora Novae Hollandiae, or by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holland., it was the first attempt at a survey of the Australian flora. It described over 2040 species, over half of which were published for the first time.
Brown's Prodromus was originally published as Volume One, and following the Praemonenda, page numbering commences on page 145. Sales of the Prodromus were so poor, however, that Brown withdrew it from sale. Due to the commercial failure of the first volume, pages 1 to 144 were never issued, and Brown never produced the additional volumes that he had planned.
In 1813, a book of illustrations for the Prodromus was published separately by Ferdinand Bauer under the title Ferdinandi Bauer Illustrationes florae Novae Hollandiae sive icones generum quae in Prodromo florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen descripsit Robertus Brown, usually referred to as Illustrationes Florae Novae Hollandiae. The Prodromus itself was eventually reprinted in 1819, and a slightly modified second edition released in 1821. In 1830, Brown published a short supplement to the Prodromus, entitled Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae.
DOI 10.5962/BHL.TITLE.3678

Abbreviations

The following explanations for Brown's abbreviations are given in his Praemonenda
  1. refers to material collected along the southern coast of Australia, and "covers plants collected between Cape Leeuwin in WA to Wilson's Promontory in Victoria".
  2. to material collected within and around the colony of Port Jackson and from the Hunter River.
  3. to material collected during the journey of the Investigator from Port Jackson to Arnhem Bay
  4. The western coast of Australia from Cape Leeuwin to Wit's Land
  5. refers to material collected in Van Diemen's Land.
  6. refers to plants seen living by Brown.
  7. refers to dried material, and means that Brown has only seen dried specimens.