Greco-Roman herbal study

Theophrastus (born 370 BC) a pupil of both Plato and Aristotle, wrote his Enquiry into Plants, a study of the structure of plant and the first attempt at plant classification.

Theophrastus work Enquiry into Plants and Aetiology of Plants, have botanical works of a scientific nature, in which more than 400 kinds of plants are described.

It was written form medical rather than from a botanical viewpoint.

Greek physician living in Rome, Dioscorides describe 600 herbs with their names and healing values in De Materia Medica. He was one of the physicians attached to the Roman Army in Asia, and he collected a great deal of general information about plants at first hand.

A contemporary of Dioscorides was Pliny the Elder, a Roman civil servant, whose Natural History included several volumes on medical botany.

Herbalist frequently mentioned by Pliny is Crateuas, the rhizotomist or herb gatherer, who served as the physician of Mithridates VI of Pontus who was also an herbalist.
Greco-Roman herbal study