Hortus Malabaricus
The cover page of the original Latin edition of Hortus Malabaricus
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| Author | Hendrik van Rheede |
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Publication date
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1678–1693 |
Hortus Malabaricus (meaning "Garden of Malabar") is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal plant properties of the flora of the Western Ghats region principally covering the areas now in the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and the union territory of Goa.
Written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published in Amsterdam during 1678–1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van Rheede, who was the Governor of Dutch Malabar at the time. The book has been translated into English and Malayalam by K. S. Manilal and published by the University of Kerala.
The Hortus Malabaricus comprises 12 volumes of about 200 pages each, with 794 copper plate engravings. The first of the 12 volumes of the book was published in 1678, and the last in 1693. It is believed to be the earliest comprehensive printed work on the flora of Asia and the tropics.
Mentioned in these volumes are plants of the Malabar region which in his time referred to the stretch along the Western Ghats from Goa to Kanyakumari. The book gives a detailed account of the flora of Kerala, along with sketches and detailed descriptions. Over 742 different plants and their indigenous science are considered in the book. The book also employs a system of classification based on the traditions adopted by the practitioners of that region. Apart from Latin, the plant names have been recorded in other languages including Malayalam, Konkani, Arabic, English. The comprehensive nature of the book is noted by T. Whitehouse in his 1859 Historical Notices of Cochin on the Malabar Coast:
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