Ibn al-Baitar

Known for

Encyclopedia of medicinal plants and simple drugs, with about 1,400 entries

Biography

Andalusian botanist from Málaga who travelled across North Africa and the Middle East; chief herbalist in Ayyubid Egypt.

Contributions

• Compiled about 1,400 plants, foods and drugs, around 300 of them new to earlier texts
• Combined earlier Greek and Arabic sources with his own field observations

Major works

• Kitab al-Jami' li-Mufradat al-Adwiya wa al-Aghdhiya
• Kitab al-Mughni fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada