The Florilegium Society

The Florilegium Society at the Royal Botanic Gardens Inc is a self-funded, voluntary organisation, endorsed by the Trust. 

The original paintings and their copyright are gifted by the artists to the Trust and held in the Daniel Solander Library in the National Herbarium of New South Wales.

Established botanical artists from Australia and overseas are invited to join The Society and submit paintings for inclusion. The paintings accepted are of the highest standard, botanically accurate and painted as individual artistic responses to the subject.

Discover which artists and works are in the florilegium

Only a small number of the 75 artists who have contributed to The Florilegium since its inception are able to visit the Botanic Gardens, but they have given so much of their time and energy and skill to create these important paintings. Their generosity is the foundation of the projects.

Like the scientific accuracy that botanical art adheres to, the richness of the horticultural displays in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is underpinned by the tradition of a scientific garden, plant collecting and the educational role that the Botanic Gardens encompass as part of our heritage.

Email your questions about The Florilegium Society

The word 'florilegium', literally a gathering of flowers, was first used in 1590 to describe a publication that focused on the beauty of the plants rather than their medicinal value.

Florilegia flourished from the 17th century to the late 19th century and they portrayed collections of rare and exotic plants. 

The modern florilegium seeks to record plants in gardens of botanical and historic significance or creating collections which highlight the diversity of their respective countries’ flora or of those that are now rare and endangered.

The Florilegium: Rainforest Species at Risk 
Art I Science I Ecosystems

5 April – 5 May 2024
The Garden Gallery, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney 
Enter via Reception, Mrs Macquaries Rd

The Florilegium Society is excited to present the inaugural exhibition at The Garden Gallery in the newly refurbished Robert Brown Building at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. This exhibition will focus on the impact of climate change and plant pathogens on rainforest species and increased human activity leading to habitat loss and fragmentation of rainforests.

As well as the new paintings of rainforest species and relevant works from the existing collection the content will include an introduction to The Florilegium Society and its previous projects and a focus on botanical illustration at the National Herbarium of New South Wales including some of the exquisite early twentieth century works by Margaret Flockton and more recent illustrations by Lesley Elkan and Catherine Wardrop.

The species painted by the artists for the exhibition include the rare, the common and overlooked – represented in the exhibition are Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia (Red Boppel Nut), a threatened species; Brachychiton acerifolius (Flame Tree), a key structural species in the Big Scrub; and Alphitonia excelsa (Red Ash or Soap Tree), a rainforest tree which is a food plant for the caterpillars of the small green-banded blue butterfly (Psychonotis caelius). All will be impacted by climate change.

See What's on for how to get there. 

The Society’s first project marked the bicentenary of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney with 89 paintings donated to the Trust. 

The Florilegium: The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Celebrating 200 Years was published in 2016. It provided a historical overview of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, and each colour plate was accompanied by a plant description and text relating it the history of the Botanic Gardens.

Sydney Living Museums held a major exhibition, Florilegium: Sydney’s Painted Garden, at the Museum of Sydney from July to October 2016. It explored the botanical and horticultural development of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and its influence on private gardens, public parks and landscapes of New South Wales since 1816.

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens exhibited The Florilegium: Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney from March to September 2018. It highlighted the history and scientific achievements of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.

Read through The Florilegium: The Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Celebrating 200 Years in its entirety below:

The second project linked the historic Banks and Solander specimens held in the National Herbarium of New South Wales with the Living Collection of the Botanic Gardens of Sydney to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage in HMB Endeavour.

This project culminated in an exhibition curated by Colleen Morris, of over 50 recent botanical paintings from 7 to 22 May 2022, at the Lion Gate Lodge, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. The focus was on these historic specimens; drawing attention to the time and place of their collection, and their history, inviting reflection on their significance to science, to First Nations peoples, to collectors and to the Botanic Gardens now. Some of the newly digitised Banks’ and Solander collection images were displayed along with more treasures from the Daniel Solander Library including some of Banks’ Florilegium plates and his specimen cabinet.

In addition to the exhibition, a beautiful limited edition publication was published by The Florilegium Society with support from the Australian Garden History Society.

The 50+ recently gifted paintings were reproduced in full colour and paired with the newly digitised Banks and Solander specimen images. Written by Colleen Morris, each species had its First Nations names and uses where known, a description and quotes from the journals of Joseph Banks, Daniel Solander and artist Sydney Parkinson. It included a preface by Denise Ora, Executive Director, Botanic Gardens of Sydney, a foreword by Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE, an introduction to The Florilegium Society by Beverly Allen and an essay on the Banks collection by Dr Brett Summerell, Chief Botanist, Botanic Gardens of Sydney.

Read through Botanic Endeavour: The Florilegium Society celebrates the Banks and Solander collection in its entirety below:

Join Botanical Artist Angela Lober as she creates her Florilegium painting of the Norfolk Island Pine. Video courtesy of Sydney Living Museums.

Banner image: Isopogon anemonifolius by Mary Anne Mein ©Botanic Gardens of Sydney