MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717)
Costus plant with Banana Stem Borer Moth
1702-03RCIN 921192
Merian relied on local knowledge as well as her own observations. In the case of the plant shown here, which she cultivated in her garden, she recorded with frustration that those she asked knew nothing about it. The unusual nature of her interests is reflected in her rueful aside, ‘they mocked me for seeking anything other than sugar’.