Plants in 16th and 17th Century: Botany between Medicine and Science

In the pre-modern era, while medicine was still relying on classical authorities on herbal remedies, a new engagement with the plant world emerged. This volume follows intertwined strands in the study of plants, examining newly introduced plants that captured physicians' curiosity, expanded their therapeutic arsenal, and challenged their long-held medical theories. The development of herbaria, the creation of botanical gardens, and the inspection of plants at the dissecting table contributed to a new understanding of the vegetal world. Attention to plants thus led to account for the therapeutic virtues of plants, to test and produce new drugs, to recognize the physical properties of plants, and to develop plant science and a new medicine.