Abstract
The paper presents the history of botanical research on Babia Góra, one of the most valuable wilderness areas in Poland.
The first published information about the local plants can be found in the writings by Jan Długosz (15th century), as well as in studies by Marcin from Urzędów (16th century) and Syreniusz (17th century). In the nineteenth century, especially in its second half, studies providing data of scientific value on the local vascular plants, spore plants, and fungi (including lichens) have been published.
Among the famous people, exploring the nature of Babia Góra at that time, were Stanisław Staszic, Feliks Berdau, Willibald Besser, Pál Kitaibel, Eugeniusz Janota, Antoni Rehman, Josef August Schultes, Albrecht von Sydow, and others. However, it is Hugo Zapałowicz, who is considered to be a discoverer of Babia Góra for science. In 1880, he published the first extensive monograph devoted to the vegetation of Babia Góra.
With the establishment of a nature reserves there in the 1920s, and the natural park (in the second half of the 20th century), the research on flora of this mountain massif became extensive and systematic.
The authors of the first monographs on the vegetation of Babia Góra in the 20th century were Edward Ralski and Jan Walas.
