ABSTRACT
The rapid expansion of the collection of the Hortus Medicus soon made it one of the richest collections of exotic plants in Europe. Authors dealing with exotic botany frequently used the Commelin volumes as a major source of reference. In many cases, the Commelins published the first illustration of a species. The Commelins published their work about half a century before May 1, 1753 that is the date before which no scientific plant name is validly published as ruled by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The books of the Commelins are of no direct relevance to the current nomenclature of plants. Ernst Huth’s Clavis Commeliniana was published in 1895. Ernst Huth was a grammer school teacher in Frankfurt. He published on a variety of subjects, but mainly on botany. His special interests were Ranunculaceae and botanical nomenclature.
