Today is Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s birthday. Today he’s often dismissed a man who should be kept away from giraffes, but he made a major contribution to botany that endures to this day.
It’s debated as to whether Lamarck was the first to invent the dichotomous key, but he certainly cemented the idea as a valuable tool. A dichotomous key asks a series of questions, is something this or that? By following the questions, you eventually arrive at an identification of a plant.
While his mechanism of evolution has been rejected, it’s also worth noting that he thought it was worth asking how species evolved. This was in a period when people didn’t know if species evolved at all. Merely asking the question was a brave act. His legacy is in showing the power of asking questions.
How to Play
Six plants fill each row
each column, each box of six
no bloom may repeat
Tap an empty cell
then choose your plant from below
watch the garden grow
Or pick a plant first
then tap the cells where it goes
faster hands plant more
Red borders will warn
when two alike share a line
rethink and replant
Ticked plants rest complete
all six placed in rightful soil
fewer choices left
The clock starts to run
the moment your first plant falls
how swift is your hand?
Select a plant, then tap cells
Two ways to play: Tap an empty cell then pick a plant, or select a plant below then tap cells to place it.
Cover image: Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck by Charles Thévenin, via Wikimedia Commons
