H. Gest has published on the origin and current definition of the word
photosynthesis. See "Photosynthetic and quasi-photosynthetic bacteria",
FEMS
Microbiol. Lett. 112, 6 (1993), in which Gest states: "Following pioneering
researches on plants in the 18th century [1], the term photosynthesis was
proposed by C.R. Barnes in 1893 [2] to identify the major plant process by
which carbon dioxide and water are converted to sugars and molecular
oxygen."
Reference 2 is Barnes: On the food of green plants. Bot. Gaz. 18, 403-411, 1893.
J.T. Beatty
Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology
The University of British Columbia
Room 300, 6174 University Blvd.
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3
604-822-6896
FAX 822-6041
