Attempts to classify different types of plants is known to have occurred as far back as since pre-historic periods as shown in the evidence found in the caves of Lascaux in Dordogne, France. These date back to 18,000 B.C. We can only assume that man has always sought the knowledge of plants and had an interest in their cultivation, beyond the simple interest in plants for food.

Hippocrates, the "father of medicine" taught in the fourth century B.C. of the value of some 400 plants and herbs - about half of which are still in used today. Aristotle attempted to catalogue the herbs known at the time and Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle, created a system of inquiry into plants which was to influence botany for many centuries.