30 Free vintage botanical prints from Carl Hoffmann. Straight from a beautiful1800s plant book. Expect colourful flowers, leafy diagrams and satisfyingly orderly botanical layouts, all ready for crafting, collage, wall art and creative tinkering.
If you’re anything like me, a good vintage botanical book is dangerously distracting. The sort of thing that starts as “just a quick look” and ends with you planning wall art, paper crafts, and possibly a whole new project.
Lehrbuch der praktischen Pflanzenkunde in Wort und Bild (1880) is exactly that kind of book.
About Carl Hoffmann’s Book
Created by Carl Hoffmann, this wonderfully detailed 19th-century plant guide was originally meant for both schools and homes, making it part textbook, part visual feast. Hoffmann was a German botanist and educator who believed plant science should be accessible to everyone, not just academics. His clear layouts and abundance of illustrations reflect that aim, turning botany into something you could actually see and enjoy.
Inside are over 1,000 plant illustrations across lots of beautifully coloured plates, plus many charming woodcut diagrams showing roots, leaves, stems and flowers from every angle. Think delicate petals, chunky seed heads, elegant leaf shapes, and those satisfyingly orderly botanical arrangements that vintage books do so well.
What I especially love is how usable these illustrations still feel today. They’re perfect for framing, collage, decoupage, junk journals, or any crafty experiment that needs a dash of vintage nature.
If this kind of botanical goodness makes your heart flutter, you might also enjoy some of the other plant-filled posts on PictureBoxBlue, like Harriot Isabel Adam’s arty wildflowers or the wonderfully nerdy natural botanical plates by Lorenz Oken. They all share that same lovely mix of vintage botanical science and art.
How to Download and Use These Vintage Botanical Prints
All of the Carl Hoffmann illustrations in this post are in the public domain, which means you’re free to download and use them as you wish.
To grab your favourites, click onthe title above any image to open the full-size version, then right-click (or long-press on mobile) and save it to your device. If you’re printing at home, try selecting “high quality” in your printer settings and experiment with matte photo paper for richer colours.
These botanical beauties are wonderfully versatile. You can:
- Frame them for instant vintage wall art
- Use them in collage, junk journals or scrapbooks
- Decoupage them onto boxes, jars or furniture
- Turn them into greeting cards or gift tags
- Incorporate them into paper crafts, embroidery projects or mixed media pieces
Basically, anywhere that could do with a splash of leafy, 1800s charm.
Prints 1-4 Miscellaneous Botanical Prints
German botanical plate showing plant anatomy, cell structures, and hand-colored cryptogams, including lichens and ferns.
Print 2: Lichens, algae, and seaweed
There is a fantastic collection of British Seaweed Prints on the site.
Edible mushrooms showing, parasol mushroom and other various species. There is already an excellent collection of mushroom charts on Pictureboxblue.
German botanical chart of poisonous mushrooms showing over 50 species in various colours, Carl Hoffmann.
Prints 5-10 Wetland & Poisonous Plants
Plate of fodder plants showing legumes and clovers with detailed stems, leaves, and flowers.
Marsh and wetland plants, including iris, willowherb, and sedge, with detailed roots and flowers.
Wetland plants including white and yellow water lilies, bog asphodel, and bulrush.
German botanical plate of poisonous plants, including opium poppy, field poppy, and monkshood, with detailed roots.
Print 9: More Poisonous Plants
Poisonous plants include foxglove, oleander, cyclamen, and jimsonweed.
Poisonous plants, including deadly nightshade, hemlock, and autumn crocus, Carl Hoffmann botanical illustration.
Prints 11-18: Medicinal & Wild Plants
Vintage botanical plate of medicinal plants, including lavender, chamomile, peppermint, dandelion, and iris, by Carl Hoffmann.
Wild plants, including spring adonis, anemone, chamomile, and agrimony.
Wild flowers, including snapdragon, columbine, aster, and common daisy.
Botanical illustrations of wild plants, including cornflower, marigold, thistle, and bellflower.
Print 15: Wild Plants including Gladiolus
Wild plants, including gentian, fritillary, heather, and gladiolus.
Print 16: Wild Plants including thistles
Botanical plate of wild plants including mallow, catnip, thistle, and orchid.
Print 17: Wild Plants Including Orchids
Orchids, oregano, and Star of Bethlehem.
Print 18: Wild Flowers Including Violets
Wild flowers, including globeflower, wild pansy, periwinkle, and violets.
Prints 19-22: Forest Trees & Garden Vegetables
Print 19: European Forest Trees
German botanical plate of European forest trees, including oak, birch, pine, and spruce. Check out these stunning Larousse tree posters.
Forest plants showingpine cones, holly berries, ivy, and honeysuckle by Carl Hoffmann.
Print 21: Forest Trees Including Oak
Forest trees showing oak acorns, poplar, cherry blossoms, and gooseberry botanical illustration.
German botanical plate of garden vegetables, including onion, garlic, asparagus, and cabbage.
Prints 23 – 30: Garden Flowers
Print 23: Ornamental Garden Flowers
Ornamental garden flowers, including azalea, camellia, gardenia, and heath.
Print 24: Garden Flowers Including Hibiscus
Flowers, including hibiscus, hollyhock, lilac, and columbine.
Print 25: Garden Flowers Including Lupins
Delphinium, lupinus, gloxinia, and carnation.
Print 26: Garden Flowers Including Peonies
German botanical plate of garden flowers, including peony, salvia, phlox, and pitcher plant.
Print 27: Garden Flowers Including Marigold
Marigold, wallflower, sweet pea, and California poppy.
Print 28: Garden Flowers Including Petunia
Petunia, zinnia, fuchsia, and nasturtium.
Print 29: Garden Flowers Including Amaryllis
German botanical plate of garden flowers, including amaryllis, fritillaria, dahlia, and hyacinth, botanical illustration.
Print 30: Garden Flowers Including Daffodils
German botanical plate of garden flowers, including tiger lily, iris, narcissus, and daffodils.
More Botanical Treasures to Explore
If Hoffmann’s plant plates have set your creative heart racing, check out all the other botanical delights waiting for you on PictureBoxBlue.
Be sure to wander through the entire collection of stunning vintage botanical prints, where you’ll find even more beautiful vintage plant art and free downloads. Some personal favourites (and reader favourites too) include:
- Vintage American Wildflowers — a charming collection of colourful native flower illustrations that are perfect for collage, framing or craft projects.
- Elizabeth Blackwell’s A Curious Herbal — elegant 18th-century plant engravings created to document medicinal herbs with remarkable detail and grace.
- Adolphe Millot Botanical Posters — one of the most popular downloads on PictureBoxBlue, this set brings bold, richly coloured plant charts straight to your printer for easy wall art and home décor.
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