Description
A watercolour of bodywood (above, Bourrerua succulenta Jacq) and spoonleaf treebine (below Cissus obovata Vahl). The drawing shows two different flowering plants. To the bottom right, a plant with green tendrils, leaves in threes, clusters of small pink flowers and black berries, which entwines itelf around the other plant, which has a more robust stem, white flowers and red berries.
Mark Catesby was born in Suffolk and was interested in natural history from an early age. In 1712, he travelled to the east coast of America with his sister Elizabeth, who had married a doctor who practised in Williamsburg, Virginia. Catesby spent seven years in Virginia collecting specimens and seeds for London buyers before returning to Britain. In London his drawings of birds and plants met with praise and a group of benefactors paid for his travel to Carolina in 1722. There, he made numerous drawings of the flora and fauna, working hard to ensure that his depictions were as helpful for an understanding of their subjects as possible. On his return to Britain, his drawings were reproduced in The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, which appeared in a series of volumes between 1729 and 1747. The first volume was dedicated to Queen Caroline, the second to Augusta, Princess of Wales. The original drawings from the volumes, which had been in the possession of Catesby’s widow until her death, were purchased by George III from the London bookseller Thomas Cadell in 1768.
The watercolour of the bodywood was used as the basis for the plant in plate 79 in the second volume of the Natural History. The watercolour of the spoonleaf treebine was used as the basis for the plant in plate 48 in the second volume of the Natural History.
For identification of the species depicted see James L. Reveal, 'Identification of the plants and animals illustrated by Mark Catesby for his Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands' in Phytoneuron 2013 and revised online version.
Alternate title: 'Frutex Rubo similis, non spinosus, capreolatus; Pittoniae similis, Laureolae, foliis, floribus albis, baccis rubris'
Descriptive Medium: 'Watercolour and bodycolour'
Image Licence
All Rights Reserved
Image Credit
© Royal Collection Trust
Location
North Carolina, USA
Country
USA
Tags
Category
Flora & Fauna
