Botanical and floristic composition of the Historical Herbarium of Leonhard Rauwolf collected in the Near East (1573­1575)

Abstract

The German doctor and botanist Leonhard Rauwolf (1535-1596) was the first post-medieval European to travel to the Levant and Mesopotamia. The travel account that he published on his hazardous journey (1573-1575) is well studied, but the plants he collected during his travels have hardly been subjected to scientific study. The fourth volume of Rauwolf's 16th century book herbarium includes plant specimens collected from the area encompassing modern-day Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. We digitized this valuable historic collection, identified all specimens in the herbarium, analyzed its floristic composition, transcribed and translated the Latin and German texts accompanying each specimen and updated the names with the latest accepted nomenclature. The herbarium book includes 191 specimens representing 183 species belonging to 64 families. It includes original specimens of Linnaean type illustrations as well as historical crop cultivars from the Near East. The Rauwolf Herbarium gives a unique insight in the exotic, unknown and useful species of the Near East from the perspective of a 16th century European botanist.

Glimpses of Loptuq Folk Botany: Phytonyms and Plant Knowledge in Sven Hedin’s Herbarium Notes from the Lower Tarim River Area as a Source for Ethnobiological Research

“…They seldom take into account how these plants were utilized locally. Sometimes, as in this case, we come across data which is of interest for both historical ethnobiology and regional studies (see Ghorbani et al 2018).…”

“…For the period before the era of digital photography, dried specimens are very important, as concrete visual information (except drawings) is seldom available. Other methods of analysis, such as DNA tests and taxonomic discussions, can never be replaced by photos or drawings, which means voucher specimens are still of immense value for botanical and ethnobotanical research (see Ghorbani et al 2018). Correctly identified voucher specimens of plants play an extremely important role for ethnobotanists and plant name researchers, as well as for cultural anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and other researchers trying to reconstruct the past.…”

The early book herbaria of Leonhard Rauwolf (S. France and N. Italy, 1560–1563): new light on a plant collection from the ‘golden age of botany’

“…Rauwolf was born in Augsburg, a bustling merchant city in southern Germany. He became famous as the rst post-Medieval European to travel to the Near East in search for new medicinal plants (Walter 2009;Ghorbani et al 2018). This hazardous journey that lasted three years (1573-1576) is documented in detail in Rauwolf's personal travel account (Rauwolf 1583), a book that became a bestseller at its time, published in multiple editions and translations (Walter 2009;Ghorbani et al 2018).…”

“…He became famous as the rst post-Medieval European to travel to the Near East in search for new medicinal plants (Walter 2009;Ghorbani et al 2018). This hazardous journey that lasted three years (1573-1576) is documented in detail in Rauwolf's personal travel account (Rauwolf 1583), a book that became a bestseller at its time, published in multiple editions and translations (Walter 2009;Ghorbani et al 2018). In the rst lines of his travelogue, Rauwolf nely outlines the concept of 16 th -century botany, expressing his keen interest, since very early in his life, in the plants described by the ancient Greek and Arabic authors.…”

“…The botanical content of the fourth volume comprising the plants that Rauwolf collected in the Near East was recently studied by Ghorbani et al (2017Ghorbani et al ( , 2018. Our work focuses on the rst three volumes of Rauwolf's plant collection (hereafter Rauwolf's early book herbaria), compiled during his student years.…”