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Linnæus conceived the ground-plan of the system of
classification by which he was to revolutionize botanical
science. The system, since modified by the advance of knowledge,
was based on external resemblances. The great work of Linnæus
was constructive, not interpretative; and he lived in a period
that may be called the renaissance of science.  Linnæus' work
was a great step forward, and his system of classification was
based on the reproductive organs (stamens and pistils) of
plants. The number of species known to Linnæus in 1753, when he
published his Species Plantarum, amounted only to 7300. The
Linnæan division of plants is into twenty-four classes,
depending on the number, position, relative proportion, and
combination of the stamens; and the first eleven classes are
distinguished solely by the number of the stamens, such as the
monandria (one stamen), diandria (two stamens),