Yakir’s botanical tables: rows, columns and orders

Michal Yakir’s Botanical Repertory becomes easier to explore once you understand what its rows, columns and plant groups represent. Our August 2021 introduction presented a way of navigating a large field of material through a clearly organised table.

Start with the columns

In the flowering-plant table, the six columns relate primarily to six subclasses in the Cronquist system of classification. This is a botanical arrangement based on morphology: shared features of form and structure.

That background matters because different authors may organise plant material using different classifications. A table is easier to read when you know which arrangement it follows, rather than expecting every plant-family system to place its groups in the same way.

Yakir’s repertory also distinguishes monocotyledons and dicotyledons, often shortened to monocots and dicots. These refer to plants with one or two seed leaves respectively. The repertory allows these branches of flowering plants to be explored separately or together.

An order is larger than a family

One of the most useful pointers in the original introduction concerns the level of classification. Yakir often works at the level of the order, so the familiar name of a family may not be the heading you first encounter.

For example, Anacardiaceae and Rutaceae belong within the order Sapindales. If you are looking for either family, knowing that relationship helps you find its place in the larger arrangement. Keep the distinction between order and family in view as you move through the table.

Read the rows as part of Yakir’s model

The rows bring in a different layer: Yakir’s interpretation of human development, drawing on Erikson’s psychosocial stages. Her work relates developmental themes to the plant arrangement. This is the author’s homeopathic interpretive framework, alongside the botanical classification.

It helps to read both layers explicitly. First identify the plant group and its position; then read the explanation of the developmental theme. That keeps the meaning of each part of the table visible.

Move from the map to the text

The RadarOpus material includes concise explanations of groups, rows and columns, as well as a thematic repertory. The 2021 introduction also drew attention to Yakir’s non-flowering, ancient-plant material.

Use the table as an entrance to that reading. Choose one order, find the families within it and compare the explanatory notes before exploring individual remedies. Our Botanical Repertory entry includes my longer introduction to these distinctions.

Adapted from Luke Norland’s newsletter of 27 August 2021.

This article is for educational purposes and does not replace individual medical advice. Seek appropriate conventional care for health concerns.