 In order to aid the amateur botanist, it used color to classify flowers, noting that this made it easier for novices to identify specimens, and that insects also used color to identify plants.The book also explored the relationship between flowers and the insects that feed on their nectar, using rather anthropomorphic language, and discussed scientific questions of the time, such as Sprengel's theory that orchids produce no nectar.Her description of the flowers also referred to relevant poetry and folklore.