John Gerard and his Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes

John Gerard (1545-1612) was a herbalist, or, to use the terminology of his time, a herbarist, now widely celebrated and highly regarded for his contributions to the discipline. Gerard was born in Nantwich in 1545 and learned about plants in the fields and by-ways of the area. He is famous across the world as the author of The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes, gathered by John Gerarde of London, Master in Chirurgerie which became the authoritative encyclopaedic work that students, botanists and others with interests in the uses and cultivation of plants and was used for over two centuries.