Science Art: Plate from Kitab fi al-adwiyah al-mufradah by Abu Ja`far al-Ghafiqi.

ghafiqiHerbal
In the 11th century, this was the pinnacle of medical knowledge – a book called Kitab fi al-adwiyah al-mufradah compiled by an Andalusian scholar Abu Ja`far al-Ghafiqi.

It’s an illustrated guide to medicinal plants – a materia medica. Al-Ghafiqi, according to later historians, was “the greatest savant of medicinal plants, their names and their properties, and his work had no equal in this field.”

If you’re curious about the state of medicine in Islamic Spain, check out McGill University’s Ghafiqi Project, where I found this keen flower painting.