1553 BELON, Pierre [Pierre Belon du Mans; Petrus Bellonius Cenomanus] (1517 – 1564)
De arboribus coniferis, resiniferis, aliis quoque nonnullis sempiterna fronde virentibus, cum earundem iconibus ad viuum expressis. Item de melle cedrino, cedria, agarico, resinis, & iis quae ex coniferis proficiscuntur.
One of the first treatises on conifers and other evergreen plants. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.
GMN 8983 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/11162
1558 BELON, Pierre [Pierre Belon du Mans; Petrus Bellonius Cenomanus] (1517 – 1564)
Les remonstrances sur le default du labour et culture des plantes, et de la cognoissance d'icelles, contenant la maniere d'affranchir et appriuoiser les arbres sauuages.
The first work on agriculture written in French. As an apothecary, Belon was especially interested in the pharmaceutical value of plants. Having learned about them on his travels, he introduced numerous foreign plants…
GMN 8984 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/11163
1664 EVELYN, John (1620 – 1706)
Sylva, or a discourse of forest-trees, and the preservation of timber in His Majesty’s dominions.
A protest against the careless destruction of England’s forests to fuel the furnaces of the glass and iron industries. The work was influential in establishing a much-needed program of reforestation that had a lasting…
GMN 145.51 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/2427
1767 CATESBY, Mark (1683 – 1749)
Hortus Europae americanus, or, A collection of 85 curious trees and shrubs: the produce of North America, adapted to the climates and soils of Great-Britain, Ireland, and most parts of Europe, &c together with their blossoms, fruits and seeds, observations on their culture, growth, constitution and virtues, with directions how to collect, pack up and secure them in their passage.
Digital facsimile from the Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link. First published as Hortus Britanno-Americanus (1763).
GMN 7679 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/9851
1785 MARSHALL, Humphrey (1722 – 1801)
Arbustrum Americanum: the American grove, or, an alphabetical catalogue of forest trees and shrubs…
Like his cousin, John Bartram (No. 1832), Marshall maintained a private botanical garden. According to W. Darlington the above work is “the first truly indigenous botanical essay published in the Western Hemisphere”. …
GMN 1836.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/2189
1794 BARHAM, Henry
Hortus Americanus, containing an account of the trees, shrubs, and other vegetable productions of South-America and the West-India islands, and particularly of the island of Jamaica; interspersed with many curious and useful observations, respecting their uses in medicine, diet, and mechanics.
Digital facsimile from Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.
GMN 9989 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/12178
1837 HEY, Rebecca
The spirit of the woods, illustrated by coloured engravings
Little is known of the anonymous author of this early illustrated work on trees except that she was also "Mrs. William Hey" and had previously published The moral of flowers. The beautiful hand-colored plates presumab…
GMN 11467 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/13666
1841 –1849 NUTTALL, Thomas (1786 – 1859); MICHAUX, François André (1770 – 1855)
The North American sylva; or, A description of the forest trees of the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia, considered particularly with respect to their use in the arts, and their introduction into commerce; to which is added a description of the most useful of the European trees. Illustrated by 156 coloured engravings. Translated from the French of F. Andrew Michaux ... With three additional volumes, containing all the forest trees discovered in the Rocky Mountains, the Territory of Oregon, down to the shores of the Pacific and into the confines of California, as well as in various parts of the United States. Illustrated by 122 finely coloured plates. 6 vols.
The first study of all the trees of North America. Digital facsimile of all 6 vols. from the Hathi Trust at this link.
GMN 7774 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/9946
1853 WALLACE, Alfred Russel (1823 – 1913)
Palm trees of the Amazon.
Wallace's first book, printed in an edition of only 250 copies. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.
GMN 8242 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/10418
1911 –1918 SARGENT, Charles Sprague (1841 – 1927); REHDER, Alfred (1863 – 1949)
The Bradley Bibliography: A guide to the literature of the woody plants of the world published before the beginning of the twentieth century. Compiled at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University under the direction of Charles Sprague Sargent by Alfred Rehder. 5 vols.
An attempt at a truly comprehensive bibliography of the world literature in western languages on these subjects to 1900, including more than 100,000 entries. Digital facsimile from the Biodiversity Heritage Library at…
GMN 11470 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/13669
![BELON, Pierre [Pierre Belon du Mans; Petrus Bellonius Cenomanus] (1517 – 1564)](/media/portraits/9632)
