Situated at the intersection of the history of science, environment, and media, "Das Kosmoskop" draws a wide line from the first plant geographical maps created in the late 18th century in the circle of Alexander von Humboldt to a mapping boom that captured botany about a hundred years later. When did maps become indispensable for botanists? What had to happen for them to observe different relationships in maps than in texts? How did the medium change theories about the geography of plants and their ecology? With a focus on map users, Nils Güttler arrives at an astonishing conclusion: Botanists only began to study plant distribution on paper quite late. The trend towards cartographic observation was driven by institutions at the supposed scientific periphery, such as cartographic societies.