[Botany in Spanish scientific expeditions]

One of the most important contributions of the Spanish Enlightenment was the knowledge of the American flora. From the Royal Botanical Garden, the Cabinet of Natural History and the Marine, a plan of expeditions was expounded that would cover important floristic colonial areas. They wanted to know the wealth of those lands in the intent of getting species useful to different industries: alimentary, textile and sanitarian. There were highly varied kinds of expeditions, some of them were maritime journeys and some others colonial settlements; some times the initiative came from the Peninsula and other times from the American lands.