Botany and mycology

Abstract

In surveying two centuries of Scottish botany—within which the study of mycology was long customarily included—and in examining its links with the global advance of botanical science, we shall focus attention on a general picture of its development and must disclaim any attempt, in a short essay, to give a detailed history. Nor shall we try to lay down a rigid definition of Scottish botany since we believe that a sufficiently clear and reasonable delimitation will become apparent in the context of what we may call, following David Hume, the necessary connections of our theme.