At LINNÉ, the sharing of plant knowledge is central to our mission. It’s a principle rooted in science, shaped by history, and inspired by the legacy of our namesake, Carl von Linné.

Carl von Linné—better known as Linnaeus—revolutionized how we understand the natural world. His establishment of binomial nomenclature and the modern system of taxonomy brought clarity and structure to the study of plants and animals, creating the foundation for biological classification as we know it today. But Linné’s work extended far beyond scientific naming conventions.

As a professor at Uppsala University, he was a devoted teacher, restoring the university’s botanical garden and mentoring students who would go on to document plant life across the globe. He was also a physician, appointed to the Swedish Royal Family, and deeply engaged in both the practical and academic applications of plant-based medicine.

What’s especially notable—and directly relevant to the ethos of LINNÉ—is his early engagement with what we now recognize as ethnobotany: the study of how different cultures use and relate to plants. Though the term wouldn’t be coined until decades after his death, Linné practiced its principles during his 1732 expedition to Lapland. At just 25 years old, he was sent by the Academy of Sciences to explore the region’s plant life. Traveling by foot, he lived among the Indigenous Sámi people, learning from their knowledge systems, adopting their dress, and recording their uses of native plants.

He returned with over 100 specimens new to science and a deeper understanding of the intimate connections between culture and ecology—an approach that still informs ethnobotanical research today.

At LINNÉ Botanicals, we view his legacy not just as scientific, but as humanistic. Linné recognized that understanding nature requires humility and collaboration. We carry this forward by formulating products that draw from both traditional uses and contemporary science—always with a respect for the knowledge that plants, and people, have to offer.