The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Gathered by John Gerarde of London, Master in Chirurgerie

John Gerard was an English herbalist, whose most famous work was entitled The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. Gerard maintained his own garden in Holborn, London, in which he cultivated all manner of plants, including exotic specimens such as the potato. The Herball contains more than 1800 woodcut illustrations, including speedwell, shown here. Most of them were taken (without acknowledgement) from a book printed in Germany six years previously. Shown here: vol. 1, pp. 500–01