Curtis Botanical – Plate 8024 – Shire Coleus

Original antique black-and-white botanical print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 8024.

Plant: Coleus Shirensis (Shire Coleus). Native to: Malawi (Shire Highlands).

Collected from the Shire Highlands of what is now Malawi — a region named for the Shire River, which David Livingstone navigated on his Central African expeditions. The coleus genus has been a decorative staple from Victorian bedding schemes to contemporary houseplant culture.

Printed in London. Each print is an original page removed from a bound volume of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, the world's oldest continuously published botanical journal (founded 1787). Uncolored plate. Sold individually. Minor age-related toning consistent with 19th-century paper.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.