What started botanical art?

• A. Decorative patterns
• B. Poetry
• C. Accuracy for study
• D. Textile design

Answer: (C)

Botanical art began as a tool for accurate record-keeping to support study and classification. Before photography, artists drew plants with careful attention to shape, leaf arrangement, flower parts, and color so scientists could identify and compare species, publish reliable floras, and communicate medicinal or horticultural knowledge. That emphasis on exactitude is what gave botanical illustration its value in science, not decoration or poetic imagery. While decorative patterns, poetry, or textile motifs later used botanical imagery, they did not start the practice; the practice started from the need to document plants precisely for study.