Linnaea borealis

For the curious visitor to the Linnean Society, a small discreet flower can be found in various places in the building. This plant, a creeper, trails along the imposing 19th century desk which dominates the Meeting Room. It frames the President’s chair and sits on top of the various iterations of the Linnean Society’s coat of arms. 

It also features in every portrait of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), intertwined between his fingers. 

This flower is the twinflower, or perhaps better known by its Latin scientific name, Linnaea borealis. As its name indicates, it is intricately associated with Carl Linnaeus. 

Linnaeus must have come across this plant with a circumpolar distribution very early on, as it would have been relatively common in Sweden. The twinflower was formally named after Linnaeus by the Dutch naturalist Gronovius in 1737, after Linnaeus wrote that he felt an affinity to this modest, low-growing plant that ‘is despised, flowers briefly’.

Specimens of Linnaea borealis were collected by Linnaeus during his journey through Lapland between May and October 1732. The pressed plants from this journey are now kept in the Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris [1] and I was very fortunate to see the Lapland journey herbarium during a trip with the Getty Foundation-funded Growing Network in 2023. The specimen in Paris is the type specimen of this monotypic genus. 

The Linnean Society holds specimens of Linnaea borealis in both its herbaria, that of Carl Linnaeus and that of James Edward Smith, founder of the Linnean Society. [2] Carl Linnaeus' herbarium comprises two specimens of Linnaea borealis, both of which are undated. According to Linnaeus’ method of keeping pressed plants, they are contained within a folder that bears the genus name of Linnaea. Only one of the sheets bears the specific epithet borealis, the other sheet is devoid of any annotations by Linnaeus. It is thought that they may have been collected by Linnaeus’ student Lars Montin on his own expedition to Lapland in 1749. [3]

Linnaea borealis featured in the 1737 portrait of Linnaeus in traditional Sámi costume and contributed to building Linnaeus’ image as a son of the North. From then on, it became Linnaeus’ signature flower, featuring in all his portraits, his coat of arms, his Chinese porcelain service, his cane, and his letters’ seals – most of which feature in the current exhibition Herbarium. Plants in a New Light, which also showcases the wonderful photographs of Swedish artist and photographer Lena Granefelt. Her own photograph of one of the specimen sheets of Linnaea borealis also figures in the exhibition, made translucent by the flashes Lena placed under the herbarium sheet. 

Photo gallery:

1. Portrait of Linnaeus in traditional Sámi costume, copy by Hendrik Hollander (1853) of Martin Hoffman (1737). OP/LINN/3
2. Linnaeus’ drawing of his coat of arms in a volume containing Systema naturae (1766-67) and Mantissa plantarum (1767). BL.20/2
3. Top of Linnaeus' walking stick with Linnaea borealis carving.
4. Seal from a letter by Linnaeus, from James Edward Smith’s seal cabinet, c. 1740s-1750s.
5. Porcelain cup and saucer, Hackefors factory, Sweden, mid-20th century.
6. Lena Granefelt's photograph of Linnaea borealis specimen. Copyright Lena Granefelt. 

Isabelle Charmantier, Head of Collections

References

[1] Plantæ Lapponicæ ab ipso Linneo collectæ, Bibliothèque de l’Institut de France, Ms. 973 Réserve.

[2] James Edward Smith's herbarium includes two sheets bearing seven specimens of Linnaea borealis (LINN-HS 1077). 

[3] Lena Granefelt and Sverker Sörlin, The Hidden Stories of the Linnaean Herbarium (2025), p. 29-30.

Banner photo credit: SF Statskog, Wikipedia.