Libellus de Re Herbaria 1538 / The Names of Herbes 1548

Full Title: Libellus de Re Herbaria 1538 / The Names of Herbes 1548 (No. 145 of the series)
Second Hand
Hardcover
Author: Turner, W.
Published by: The Ray Society

Book Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket: Near Fine.
Very crisp, clean and bright inside and out with the exception of a few light marks to the top edge of the textblock and 2 small tears to the top of the DJ.
William Turner (c. 1508-68), clergyman, physician, herbalist and naturalist, has long been honoured as the ‘father of British botany’, being ‘unquestionably the earliest writer among us that discovered learning and critical judgement in the study of plants’. His Libellus de Re Herbaria (1538) and Names of Herbes (1548) are the first two printed books relating to the British flora which have any claim to originality. Both books were banned during his exile from England and are now extremely rare. They contain the first records of the the occurrence of many plants in England, together with their vernacular English names. Some of the now current vernacular names were here introduced by Turner. A facsimile copy for all who are interested in the British flora, this volume includes contributions by B. Daydon Jackson and James Britten published in 1877 and 1882; the nomenclature of their identifications of Turner’s plants has been revised by J. E. Dandy and W. T. Stearn.