Natural Objects of the New World

Chapter 5 turns its attention to the so-called New World, focusing on the flora and fauna of the Americas. The chapter begins with an overview of the relevant texts and examines the practical and conceptual challenges faced by European naturalists – particularly the difficulty of reconciling unfamiliar species with biblical accounts of creation and the flood. It then analyses the naming of American plants and animals in Latin texts, highlighting characteristic processes of lexical acculturation. Four case studies delve into specific challenges in depth: the sloth, which was assigned multiple names across European languages; the penguin, mistakenly identified as a European species; a mythical creature called Su, for which Conrad Gessner sought a more classical name; and ficus indicus , a term applied to at least three entirely different plants.