In 1794 he wrote a treatise on the principles of botany. It was called "Principes de botanique, expliqués au Lycée républicain par Ventenat". It did not receive much interest when it was released, and Ventenat became so disappointed that he reportedly made efforts to buy all copies of the book and have them destroyed. In 1798 he published a French translation of Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu's "Genera plantarum" as "Tableau du règne végétal selon la méthode de Jussieu". In his translation of the work, Ventenat added information about the properties and uses of plants.