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ng so inescapably low key； but in fact moss people number inthe hundreds and they feel very strongly about their subject。 鈥渙h； yes；鈥潯llis told me； 鈥渢hemeetings can get very lively at times。鈥�
i asked him for an example of controversy。
鈥渨ell； here鈥檚 one inflicted on us by one of your countrymen；鈥潯e said； smiling lightly； andopened a hefty reference work containing illustrations of mosses whose most notablecharacteristic to the uninstructed eye was their uncanny similarity one to another。 鈥渢hat；鈥潯esaid； tapping a moss； 鈥渦sed to be one genus； drepanocladus。 now it鈥檚 been reorganized intothree： drepanocladus； wamstorfia； and hamatacoulis。鈥�
鈥渁nd did that lead to blows？鈥潯 asked perhaps a touch hopefully。
鈥渨ell； it made sense。 it made perfect sense。 but it meant a lot of reordering of collectionsand it put all the books out of date for a time； so there was a bit of； you know； grumbling。鈥�
mosses offer mysteries as well； he told me。 one famous case鈥攆amous to moss peopleanyway鈥攊nvolved a retiring type called hyophila stanfordensis； which was discovered on thecampus of stanford university in california and later also found growing beside a path incornwall； on the southwest tip of england； but has never been encountered anywhere inbetween。 how it came to exist in two such unconnected locations is anybody鈥檚 guess。 鈥渋t鈥檚now known as hennediella stanfordensis；鈥潯llis said。 鈥渁nother revision。鈥�
we nodded thoughtfully。
when a new moss is found it must be pared with all other mosses to make sure that ithasn鈥檛 been recorded already。 then a formal description must be written and illustrationsprepared and the result published in a respectable journal。 the whole process seldom takesless than six months。 the twentieth century was not a great age for moss taxonomy。 much ofthe century鈥檚 work was devoted to untangling the confusions and duplications left behind bythe nineteenth century。
that was the golden age of moss collecting。 （you may recall that charles lyell鈥檚 fatherwas a great moss man。） one aptly named englishman； george hunt； hunted british mosses soassiduously that he probably contributed to the extinction of several species。 but it is thanksto such efforts that len ellis鈥檚 collection is one of the world鈥檚 most prehensive。 all780；000 of his specimens are pressed into large folded sheets of heavy paper； some very oldand covered with spidery victorian script。 some； for all we knew； might have been in thehand of robert brown； the great victorian botanist； unveiler of brownian motion and thenucleus of cells； who founded and ran the museum鈥檚 botany department for its first thirty…oneyears until his death in 1858。 all the specimens are kept in lustrous old mahogany cabinets sostrikingly fine that i remarked upon them。
鈥渙h； those were sir joseph banks鈥檚； from his house in soho square；鈥潯llis said casually； asif identifying a recent purchase from ikea。 鈥渉e had them built to hold his specimens from theendeavour voyage。鈥潯e regarded the cabinets thoughtfully； as if for the first time in a longwhile。 鈥渋 don鈥檛 know howwe ended up with them in bryology；鈥潯e added。
this was an amazing disclosure。 joseph banks was england鈥檚 greatest botanist； and theendeavour voyage鈥攖hat is the one on which captain cook charted the 1769 transit of venusand claimed australia for the crown； among rather a lot else鈥攚as the greatest botanicalexpedition in history。 banks paid 锟�10；000； about 1 million in today鈥檚 money； to bringhimself and a party of nine others鈥攁 naturalist； a secretary； three artists； and four servants鈥攐n the three…year adventure around the world。 goodness knows what the bluff captain cook made of such a velvety and pampered assemblage； but he seems to have liked banks wellenough and could not but admire his talents in botany鈥攁 feeling shared by posterity。
never before or since has a botanical party enjoyed greater triumphs。 partly it was becausethe voyage took in so many new or little…known places鈥攖ierra del fuego； tahiti； newzealand； australia； new guinea鈥攂ut mostly it was because banks was such an astute andinventive collector。 even when unable to go ashore at rio de janeiro because of a quarantine；he sifted through a bale of fodder sent for the ship鈥檚 livestock and made new discoveries。
nothing； it seems； escaped his notice。 altogether he brought back thirty thousand plantspecimens； including fourteen hundred not seen before鈥攅nough to increase by about aquarter the number of known plants in the world。
but banks鈥檚 grand cache was only part of the total haul in what was an almost absurdlyacquisitive age。 plant collecting in the eighteenth century became a kind of internationalmania。 glory and wealth alike awaited those who could find new species； and botanists andadventurers went to the most incredible lengths to satisfy the world鈥檚 craving for horticulturalnovelty。 thomas nuttall； the man who named the wisteria after caspar wistar； came toamerica as an uneducated printer but discovered a passion for plants and walked halfwayacross the country and back again； collecting hundreds of growing things never seen before。
john fraser； for whom is named the fraser fir； spent years in the wilderness collecting onbehalf of catherine the great and emerged at length to find that russia had a new czar whothought he was mad and refused to honor his contract。 fraser took everything to chelsea；where he opened a nursery and made a handsome living selling rhododendrons； azaleas；magnolias； virginia creepers； asters； and other colonial exotica to a delighted english gentry。
huge sums could be made with the right finds。 john lyon； an amateur botanist； spent twohard and dangerous years collecting specimens； but cleared almost 200；000 in today鈥檚money for his efforts。 many； however； just did it for the love of botany。 nuttall gave most ofwhat he found to the liverpool botanic gardens。 eventually he became director of harvard鈥檚botanic garden and author of the encyclopedicgenera of north american plants （which henot only wrote but also largely typeset）。
and that was just plants。 there was also all the fauna of the new worlds鈥攌angaroos； kiwis；raccoons； bobcats； mosquitoes； and other curious forms beyond imagining。 the volume of lifeon earth was seemingly infinite； as jonathan swift noted in some famous lines：
so； naturalists observe； a fleahath smaller fleas that on him prey；and these have smaller still to bite 鈥檈m；and so proceed ad infinitum。
all this new information needed to be filed； ordered； and pared with what was known。
the world was desperate for a workable system of classification。 fortunately there was a manin sweden who stood ready to provide it。
his name was carl linn茅 （later changed； with permission； to the more aristocraticvonlinn茅）； but he is remembered now by the latinized form carolus linnaeus。 he was born in1707 in the village of r？shult in southern sweden； the son of a poor but ambitious lutherancurate； and was such a sluggish student that his exasperated father apprenticed him （or； by some accounts； nearly apprenticed him） to a cobbler。 appalled at the prospect of spending alifetime banging tacks into leather； young linn茅 begged for another chance； which wasgranted； and he never thereafter wavered from academic distinction。 he studied medicine insweden and holland； though his passion became the natural world。 in the early 1730s； still inhis twenties； he began to produce catalogues of the world鈥檚 plant and animal species； using asystem of his own devising； and gradually his fame grew。
rarely has a man been more fortable with his own greatness。 he spent much of hisleisure time penning long and flattering portraits of himself； declaring that there had never鈥渂een a greater botanist or zoologist；鈥潯nd that his system of classification was 鈥渢he greatestachievement in the realm of science。鈥潯odestly he suggested that his gravestone should bearthe inscription princeps botanicorum； 鈥減rince of botanists。鈥潯t was never wise to question hisgenerous self…assessments。 those who did so were apt to find they had weeds named afterthem。
linnaeus鈥檚 other striking quality was an abiding鈥攁t times