title: Federico Delpino and the foundation of plant biology.
abstract: In 1867, Federico Delpino, with his seminal work "Pensieri sulla biologia vegetale" (Thoughts on plant biology) established plant biology by defining it not in the broad general sense, namely as the science of living beings, but as a branch of natural science dedicated to the study of plant life in relation to the environment. Today, the figure and achievements of this outstanding plant scientist it is almost unknown. In the following pages, I will concisely describe the main realizations of Federico Delpino and outline the significance of his work for modern plant science.
authors.affiliation: LINV, Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Science, University of Firenze, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy. stefano.mancuso@unifi.it
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mancuso
mesh_terms: D001901:Botany / Q000266:history*; D004777:Environment; D049672:History, 19th Century; D007558:Italy; D010944:Plants