Botanical investigations of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

Abstract

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek is well known for his single lens microscopes and how he used them to make observations on “little animals,” however, the breadth of his botanical observations are less well known. His thorough studies of wood anatomy are well documented but he also reported on the leaf anatomy, phloem, numerous seeds, and ferns. This article is a summary of his major anatomical findings as well as several of his physiological experiments on plants, quantitative measurements and predictions based on his observations, and descriptions of the economic uses of some plants.