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20 CARL FRIEDRICH PHILLIPP VON MARTIUS,
required for their preparation induced him to attempt the more speedy
publication of his treasures in a series of octavo volumes, without
pictorial illustrations, but only two volumes were published,— one on
Grasses by Nees von Esenbeck, and the other on Cryptogams, by
Martins and otiiers.
In 1S29, he began the publication of his great work, the 'Flora
Erasiliensis,' in folio, and from that time it may be said that the
work of his life has been the carrying on of this publication. He has
obtained the assistance of many of the most distinguished botanists to
tindertake different families, and these have been published as prepared,
irrespective of any systematic order in the separate monographs. In
addition to the materials obtained by Martins, all Brazilian collections
before and subsequent to his expedition have been, as far as possible,
included in the ' Flora,' and as Brazil is strikingly rich in many
Natural Orders, the various monographs are often nearly complete for
the group in question.
lie began the distribution of his rich collections in 1S37, in a series
of fascicles under the title of ' Herbarium Florae Erasiliensis.' He printed
an introduction to this publication in the ' Regensburg Flora,' contain-
ing much interesting information on the labours of his predecessors, on
the geographical distribution of vegetation in Brazil, and on the plan he
had followed in determining his plants, and forming his herbarium.
Besides the purely systematic works in which he was engaged, he
prepared a valuable history of all that was known, and that he had
himself ascertained of the medical properties of the plants of Brazil.
This was published in 184'3, under the title ' Systeraa Materia^
Medica; Yegetabilis Brasiliensis.' He classified his information under
the various properties for which the plants were useful, as Amylacea,
Muc'dagiiiosa, SaccJiarina, Acida, etc.
Von Martins early showed a predilection for linguistic studies. His
correspondence Avith Nees von Esenbeck, his fellow-student, was cai'ried
on in Latin, and his coma(and of this language is exhibited by the
elegant and eloquent dissertations which are interspersed among the
more formal descriptions of his systematic works. When in Brazil he
paid considerable attention to the languages of the natives, and to other
ethnographical questions, and amongst his numerous avocations he
has published several works on these subjects, such as 'Von dera
Rechtszustande unter den Ureinwohnern Brasiliens ' in 1832, 'Das