Born on the Greek island of Lesbos around 372 BCE, Theophrastus would become the “Father of Botany”. Theophrastus before becoming a highly known figure and teacher in the philosophy of plant science was a humble student under Plato and later Aristotle and after Aristotle’s death became the head of Aristotle’s school, the Lyceum, in Athens.

In his multi-volume text, Enquiry in Plants, Theophrastus set out to do for plants what Aristotle had done for animals and found a scheme for classifying them into different types. He divides them into trees, shrubs, undershrubs, and plants.

These volumes give wisdom and philosophy to the modern-day horticulturist and botanist. Theophratus gives awareness of the relationship between plants and their environment. The ninth volume and the final book of the Enquiry consider the medicinal properties of plants and their other uses. He looked at plants’ physiology and considered different methods of cultivation.