Herbal

An illustrated book describing plants, often emphasizing their identification, properties, and medicinal uses. Herbal books have appeared in manuscript and printed forms across many cultures.

De materia medica: A Greek pharmacological work by Dioscorides describing medicinal substances, especially plants. Its wide circulation made it a foundational source for European herbals.
Herbarium: A systematically arranged collection of preserved plant specimens used for study. Unlike an herbal, it documents physical specimens rather than primarily describing plants in a book.
Herbal medicine: The use of plants or plant preparations to prevent or treat illness. Medicinal advice is a central purpose of many historical herbals.
Pharmacopoeia: An authoritative publication specifying medicines, their preparation, and standards of quality. A pharmacopoeia standardizes medicinal substances, while an herbal typically describes plants more broadly.
Dioscorides: A Greek physician and pharmacologist of the first century CE, best known for De materia medica. His work supplied herbal authors with descriptions and remedies for centuries.
Botanical illustration: Scientific depiction of plants intended to communicate their form and identifying features. Illustrations helped herbal readers recognize plants described in words.
Physic garden: A garden cultivated chiefly to grow plants used in medicine. Herbals supplied names and descriptions that informed the cultivation of medicinal plants.
Flora (botany): A systematic account of the plants growing in a region or defined area. Regional floras classify plants comprehensively rather than centering their medicinal virtues.
Apuleius Platonicus Herbarius: A late antique Latin herbal that circulated widely in medieval Europe. It shows how classical plant lore was adapted into illustrated Latin manuscripts.
Plant taxonomy: The science of naming, defining, and classifying plants. Herbals organize plant descriptions, though their systems often predate modern classification.

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