Colorful “Map of Plants” Visualizes the Complex Diversity and Evolution of Our Planet’s Flora

Plants provide oxygen, fill the landscape with colorful flowers, and some even feed us. But looking at the big picture, it can be hard to grasp how different they are from one another. That's why physicist Dominic Walliman of Domain of Science set out to make a comprehensive Map of Plants. Having worked on similar graphics, like a revealing Map of Medicine, Walliman highlights the differences and similarities of flora to teach us about their inner workings.

Walliman's love for conceptual maps dates back to his university days. Feeling frustrated after losing the thread of the lectures he was attending, he spent weeks wondering about how the material covered in each session related to one another. “What I needed, I thought, was a conceptual map of all the material so I had a kind of geographical representation of it to help me see how everything fitted in with everything else: see where I was and where I was going,” he told My Modern Met. “Out of that frustration I started creating my maps and videos of different areas of human knowledge to help myself and others get our heads around these subjects as a good primer on what exists and what might pique our interest for further reading.”

His Map of Plants follows a similar structure as his previous works—it's an alluringly colorful and detailed chart that unfurls as one looks at it. The map explains concepts and classifications, including the DNA differences between plants and their reproductive system, which can involves either spores or seeds.

“In this map of plants I summarize all of the different kinds of plants from algae all the way through bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms, monocots, eudicots, rosids and asterids,” Walliman states. “I explain how they are related to each other due to their evolutionary history, and the features that make plants so successful, leaves, roots, a vascular system, spores, seeds, flowers and fruits.”

You can take a guided tour around the map with Walliman in the video below, and pick up your own printed version at Domain of Science's website. More products featuring Walliman's informational maps is also available on Redbubble.

Dominic Walliman of Domain of Science set out to make a comprehensive Map of Plants. Take a guided tour around the detailed graphic in the video below.

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Colorful “Map of Plants” Visualizes the Complex Diversity and Evolution of Our Planet’s Flora