Grew, Nehemiah

Grew, Nehemiah, 1641–1712, English botanist and physician. Grew practiced medicine in London and made important microscopic studies of plants. He made what were probably the first observations of sex in plants. His most noted book is his Anatomy of Plants (1682), in which are included a number of papers on chemistry. He also wrote Anatomy of Vegetables Begun (1672) and Comparative Anatomy of Trunks (1675).

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Grew, Nehemiah

(baptized Sept. 26, 1641, Mancetter Parish, Warwickshire, Eng.—died March 25, 1712, London) British botanist. A physician and professor, Grew's training in animal anatomy led to his interest in that of plants. His writings noted the existence of cells and coined such terms as radicle (for the embryonic root), plume (for the primary bud of a plant embryo; now called plumule), and parenchyma (for unspecialized cells). His Anatomy of Plants (1682) contained the first thorough account of plant anatomy; its many excellent wood engravings represented the three-dimensional, microscopic structure of plant tissue. He presented, among other fundamental discoveries, the suggestion that the stamen (with its pollen) is the male sex organ and the pistil corresponds to the female sex organ. With Marcello Malpighi, Grew is considered a founder of the science of plant anatomy.

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Grew, Nehemiah 

Born Sept. 26. 1641. in Atherstone; died Mar. 25, 1712, in London. English botanist and physician; secretary of the Royal Society (1677). Together with M. Malpighi, Grew was the cofounder of the science of plant anatomy. In his Anatomy of Plants, (1682), Grew described the microscopic structure of roots, stems, leaves, fruits, and seeds. He advanced the idea of the unity of microscopic structure of the various organs, which he reduced to three elements: “vacuoles” (cells), fibers, and tubules. He introduced the terms “tissue” and “parenchyma” and described the stomata. He recognized flowers as the organs of sexual reproduction in plants.

REFERENCES

Lunkevich, V. V. Ot Geraklita do Darvina: Ocherki po istorii biologii. 2nd ed., vol. 2. Moscow. 1960.
Arber, A. “Nehemiah Grew.” In Makers of British Botany. Cambridge. 1913. Pages 44–64.