Early botany books

1568. William Turner. The first and seconde partes of the herbal.

dedicates it to Queen Elizabeth, who has "four tymes holpen me with your letters patentes"

of adversaries, "some of them will saye / seynge that I graunte that I have gathered this booke of so manye writers / that I offer unto you an heape of other mennis laboures / and nothing of myne owne / and that I goo about to make me frendes with other mennis travayles / and that a booke intreatinge onelye of trees / herbs and wedes / and shrubbes / is not a mete present for a prince. To whom I aunswere / that if the honye that the bees gather out of so manye floure of herbes / shrubbes / and trees / that are growing in other mennis medowes / feldes and closes : maye justelye be called the bees honye : and Plinies booke de naturali historia maye be called his booke / although he have gathered it oute of so manye good writers whom he vouchsaveth to name in the beginninge of his worke : So maye I call it that I have learned and gathered of manye good autours not without great laboure and payne my booke"

• complains that "a craftie covetous and Popishe printer" recently put out his book without his name on it, or his preface attached, but with the printer's own preface, "as though the booke had bene his owne"

mandrake: part II, fol. 46

• in England, "The rootes whiche are conterfited & made like little puppettes & mammettes / which come to be sold in England in boxes / with heir / & such forme as a man hath / are nothyng elles but folishe feined trides / & not naturall. For they are so trymmed of crafty theives to mocke the poore people with all / & to rob them both of theyr wit and theyr money. I have in my tyme at diverse tymes taken up the rootes of Mandrag out of the grounde / but I never saw any such thyng upon or in them / as are in and upon the pedlers rootes that are comenly to be solde in boxes."

1597. John Gerard. The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes.

1597 edition: [1] (goose barnacle tree on pg 1391)

1636 edition expanded by Thomas Johnson: [2] (goose barnacle tree on pg. 1587)

at the end of the book, a few "plants" that seem uncategorizable

saunders tree:

• seems to be the only tree depicted in as a comparative cross-section of a split of wood

stonie wood:

"Among the woonders of England this is one of great admiration, and contrarie vnto mans reaso nand capacitie, that there shoulde be a kind of woode alterable into the hardnes of a stone called Stonie woode, or rather a kinde of water, which hardneth woode and other things, into the nature and matter of stones. But we know that the works of God are woonderfull, if we do but narrowly search the least of them, which w daily beholde; much more if we turne our eies vpon those that are seldome seene, and known but of a fewe, and that of such as have painfully trauelled in the secrets of nature. This strange alteration of nature is to be seene in sundry parts of England and Wales, through the qualities of some waters and earth, which change such things into stones as do fall therein; or which are of purpose (for triall) put into them. In the north part of Englande, there is a Well neere vnto Knaesborough, which will change any thing into stone, whether it be wood, timber, leaves of trees, mosse, leather gloves or such like. There be diverse places in Bedforshire, Warwickshire and Wales, where there is ground of that qualitie, that if a stake be driven into it, that part of the stake which is within the ground will be a firme and hard stone, & al that which is aboue the earth retaineth his former substance and nature. Also my selfe being at rougby (about such time as our fantasticke people did with great concourse and multitudes, repaire and run headlong vnto the sacred wels of Newnam regis, in the edge of Warwickshire, as vnto the water of life, which could cure all diseases) I went from thence vnto these Wels, where I founde growing ouer the same a faire Ash tree, whose boughes did hang over the spring of water, whereof some that were seare and rotten, and some that of purpose were broken off, fell into the water, 7 were all turned into stones. Of these boughes, or parts of the tree, i brought vnto London, which when I had broken in peeces, therein might be seene that the pith and all the rest was turned into stones; yea many buds and flowrings of the tree falling into the saide water, were also turned into hard stones, still retaining the same shape & fashion that they were of before they were in the water. I doubt not but if this water were prooued about the hardning of some kinde of confections Phisicall, for the preseruation of them, or other speciall ends, it would offer greater occasion of admiration for the health and benefite of mankinde, then it doth about such things as alraedy haue beene experimented, tending to very little purpose." (1390)

barnacle goose tree: