We are in the middle of a big tercentenary. Three hundred years ago, the natural scientist Carl Linnaeus was born in Sweden. Gardeners still live with the legacy of his botanical names for plants and to celebrate him we saw a Linnaeus Garden at the Chelsea Show in May. Meanwhile, in Sweden this is the year of a Linnaeus Route around 33 places with the slogan: “Linnaeus Was Here”. The Emperor of Japan has come over to visit the British Linnaean Society in London. The celebrations will end on December 15 at the IceHotel in Lapland.

Why is such a fuss being made? Linnaeus is Sweden’s most famous botanist and he is best known for two achievements. He established a system of giving plants two names, the basic system we all use today. When we order Abelia grandiflora, we are following Linnaeus by using one name for the main family and the second name for the form within it. He also classified plants into families according to their sexual characteristics. We have moved beyond his insight here but it was a crucial attempt to bring simplicity into the complexity of the natural world. His names, however, have been more persistent. Botanists still regard them as a source of authority when they try to establish the correct name for a disputed plant.