Ernst-Michael Kranich examines the various stages of the plant world in relation to a unified plant being that underlies all transformations. The entire flora unfolds in the most diverse manifestations of this type. This study provides an understanding of the order and metamorphoses in the plant kingdom: 1. Botany in the spirit of Goethe - an alternative to science? 2. Goetheanism - its method and implications 3. The plant kingdom as a manifestation of the archetypal plant: Methodological preface. The gymnosperms. The ferns. The mosses. The algae. The fungi. The lichens. Overview and further questions 4. The development of the plant world: Methodological preface. The age of algae and ferns. The transition to the age of gymnosperms. A glimpse into the age of angiosperms 5. Retrospective.