Through the “Journal du botaniste” inserted in La quarantaine (1995), Le Clézio reveals a side of the scientific imagination specific to discoveries : it is the figure of the explorer which emerges through an erudite character who knows all about exotic plants, knows all the nooks and crannies of his island, and collects various specimens in a fashion that mimics the ancient herbalists’ ways. In addition to drawing up a rich and varied description of the vegetation of “l’île Plate”, the narrative reminds us of the importance of travels for both the history of the circulation of plants and the emergence of the scientific imagination. Yet it is not John Metcalfe, the botanist, but Ananta, the Indian healer and servant of pyres, who possesses the required knowledge of plants to treat patients suffering from smallpox. Hers is a popular form of knowledge that she also conveys to her daughter, Surya. In addition to their life-saving virtues, plants are the staple diet of the coolies, who cultivate small gardens, while the white men rely only on food brought by boats. Le Clézio stresses in this novel the close bonds that exist between plants and humans, bonds that appear to have been strained due to the white man’s specialization of knowledge, while in the imaginary, plants stay closely connected to human life : “It is the plants that save men” (268).