Swedish

Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in the Indian Ocean is a biodiversity hot-spot, with over 3,000 endemic species of plants – not just native, but known only on the island. New to European science in the 1700s and 1800s, they are the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.

Cubeb, native to Java and Sumatra, is cultivated for its berries and oil and has been used for centuries in herbal medicine and as a flavoring⁠—similar to allspice or pepper⁠—in gin, chewing gum, and various other products. Mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman texts, as well as in the Arabian One Thousand and One Nights and The Travels of Marco Polo, the species is the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg.

Palms comprise a group of 181 genera totaling 2600 species of plants in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate ecosystems. Originating from a single ancestor species but now highly diverse due to adaptive radiation, palms have been economically important since being cultivated in Mesopotamia 5000 years ago. They are the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.

Named for the water nymph in Greek myth who was turned into a laurel tree, daphnes are a genus of 50-60 species of flowering shrubs native to Asia, Europe, and north Africa. Highly scented, they are a favorite garden plant, although the berries are poisonous. They are the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18^th- and 19^th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.

In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, it was standard practice for university professors to write their students' dissertations; the student's job was to explicate and defend the thesis. At the University of Uppsala (Sweden), first Linnaeus and then Thunberg wrote hundreds of these botanical papers, usually focused on taxonomic and systematic matters — either describing and naming genera and species or analyzing basic issues of classification. The Cullman Library holds dozens of these small, individually published papers, many of them housed in old acidic pamphlet-binders.

Dragon trees are a genus of about 120 species of trees and shrubs in the family Asparagaceae, native almost exclusively to Africa. Some of the smaller species are popular as houseplants and have earned a “green” reputation for their ability to clear pollutants from the air. They are the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.

The spices nutmeg and mace (from the seed and its lacy covering, respectively) come from several species of trees in the genus Myristica indigenous to the Banda Islands in Indonesia – the famous Spice Islands of history and lore. They are the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.

Figs form an ancient pan-tropical genus of over 850 species of trees and shrubs that are keystone species in rainforest ecosystems. They may have been the first plant cultivated by humans and play an important role in all of the major religions of the world. They are the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.

Aloes form a genus of more than 500 species in the Asphodel family. Native to southern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and several islands in the Indian Ocean, they have traditionally been used in herbal medicines, which is the focus of this university dissertation written by Professor Carl Peter Thunberg. In 18th- and 19th-century Europe, professors wrote the dissertations; the student’s job was to explicate and defend it and pay for its publication.