Theophrastus, (372?–;287 B.C.), a Greek philosopher regarded as the father of botany. He described more than 500 species of plants in his series On the History of Plantsand On the Causes of Plants.Of his more than 200 other works on many different subjects, the best-known is a collection of vivid sketches of various character types. Theophrastus studied with Plato and was a friend and pupil of Aristotle, whom he succeeded as head of the Lyceum.