Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis (1824–1873),[1] also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Prodr. (DC.), is a 17-volume treatise on botany initiated by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. De Candolle intended it as a summary of all known seed plants, encompassing taxonomy, ecology, evolution and biogeography. He authored seven volumes between 1824 and 1839, but died in 1841. His son, Alphonse de Candolle, then took up the work, editing a further ten volumes, with contributions from a range of authors. Volume 17 was published in October 1873.[2] The fourth and final part of the index came out in 1874.[3] The Prodromus remained incomplete, dealing only with dicotyledons.
In the Prodromus, De Candolle further developed his concept of families. Note that this system was published well before there were internationally accepted rules for botanical nomenclature. Here, a family is indicated as "ordo". Terminations for families were not what they are now. Neither of these phenomena is a problem from a nomenclatural perspective, the present day ICN provides for this. Within the dicotyledons ("classis prima DICOTYLEDONEÆ") the De Candolle system recognises (Pagination from Prodromus, 17 Parts) the list:
(Index to Part I p. 741)
Somewhat inconsistently the Prodromus also treats:
(Overall Index Part XVII Page 323)
