The botany of the Holy Bible (Part Two)

Abstract

When I wrote the first part of this study I had as my main bibliography a booklet by Eleanor King (1948) based on a work by the botanist Harold Moldenke (1941). Subsequently, I had the opportunity to consult the herbarium library of Harvard University and I must confess my surprise to see that a subject that I considered scarce of bibliography, had been treated, partially or totally, by numerous authors and in several languages. Nevertheless, I continue the study, with more enthusiasm, because I only found one work in Spanish: Flora Bíblico-poética o Historia de las Principales Plantas Elogiadas en la Sagrada Escritura, by the doctor in Pharmacy Juan Gualberto Talegón, published in Madrid, Spain, 1871, who recognizes 56 species selected from a Bible in Latin; he groups them by families and describes them in a technical and pleasant way, especially the medicinal plants, among them the Mandrake, which stands out for its uses as a narcotic and aphrodisiac.