HENRIK ADREAAN VAN RHEEDE

HORTUS MALABARICUS
During the early part of the 17th century, Van Rheede was the Dutch Governor of Malabar, which was the centre of the spices trade with the Arab and European worlds. He compiled the famous twelve volume opus Hortus Malabaricus between 1678 and 1703, illustrating the enormous variety of exotic plants he discovered in the colony.