“A plant no less wonderful than useful.” Mexican scientific studies on the wax myrtle tree, 1826-1857

Abstract

Abstract: Between 1826 and 1857 the botanical study of the wax myrtle tree was carried out in Mexico City’s scientific institutions as part of the inventory of Mexican flora. The research involved amateurs and naturalists who published several articles in the city’s press about this tree as a new agricultural production to strengthen the national economy. The Mexican government and other individuals allocated resources to explore the places where the wax myrtle grew in order to learn about their anatomical characteristics, as well as to study the popular use of it and determine the feasibility of its exploitation in craft work. This research contributes to expanding the studies on the history of Mexican botany during the first half of the nineteenth century.