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The present distribution of the carob-tree ( Ceratonia siliqua L.) throughout the coastal regions of the Mediterranean, the route followed from its possible place of origin in southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa, and the possible circumstances of the tree's domestication are discussed in the light of botanical, archaeological, historical and philological evidence. It is shown that the genus Ceratonia formed part of the wild flora of western Europe in preglacial times, that C. siliqua was present in ancient times in the Middle East and that its spread to the western Mediterranean area took place progressively, possibly beginning in the second millennium BC . From the fact that, except in the case of Greece and southern Italy, most of the names applied to the tree today in European languages are linked to Arabic, it is inferred that today's cultivars were probably selected by Muslims in the Middle Ages.

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Libri picturati A. 16–30 from the former Preussischer Staatsbibliothek in Berlin comprise a high quality ensemble of sixteenth century drawings of animals and plants. Since their rediscovery in Biblioteka Jagiellońska. Cracow, Poland, several different theories have arisen about the origin of the collection, as a result of work done by several scholars. Jacob van Corenhuyse has been identified as the author of some of the drawings, and Karel van Sint Omaar and Karel van Aremberg as the consecutive owners of the collection. Careful examination of the drawings confirms the important role played by the Flemish botanist Charles de l'Écluse (Clusius) in forming the collection. L'Écluse's correspondence reveals the existence of a second painter, possibly Peeter van der Borcht, who may have been the author of the drawings done using dried specimens. One hundred and twenty of the drawings in the collection were used by Officina Plantiniana (Antwerp) as the templates for the engravings in l'Écluse's publications.