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1551

TURNER, WILLIAM. A new herball, wherein are conteyned the names of herbes in Greke, Latin, Englysh, Duch, Frenche... London: Steven Mierdman, 1551.

William Turner's Herball is the first scientific herbal written by an Englishman and the first published in English rather than in Latin. The author recorded 238 previously undescribed native plants. This work contains an interesting discussion of the problems of accurate identification of plants and has considerable medical advice in the text, including actual cases of treatment, disastrous or otherwise. The author had a controversial career as a naturalist, theologian, and physician.