Hortus Malabaricus
- Date
- 1678-1693 · confidence high
- Place
- Cochin (Kochi), Kerala, India
- Credited to
- Hendrik van Rheede with Itty Achuden and the Brahmins Ranga, Vinayaka and Appu Bhatt
- People
- 👤 Hendrik van Rheede1637–1691
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
Twelve-volume work describing 742 plants of the Malabar Coast with their medicinal uses and names in Malayalam, Sanskrit and Arabic, based on the knowledge of local Ezhava physicians. It was the first great tropical flora of Asia.
Although credited to the Dutch governor, the botanical content comes largely from the physician Itty Achuden and local Ayurvedic traditions.
What it led to
- European tropical botany
- references for Linnaeus in Species Plantarum