What is Republic of Letters

This chapter deals with the history of plant collections and their uses in science and art. It does this within the context of the development of a visual literacy about plants and their structures. It also covers how the value and influence of these collections are increasing as they become available electronically. These resources are now accessible not only to plant biologists but also to gardeners, environmentalists, naturalists, and students. Included here is a discussion of the various online portals that have been created, their relative usefulness to nonprofessionals, and how they can be “tamed” by educators to make them useful and useable tools for students.