Crista Galli. Arbustum medicum

Title

Crista Galli. Arbustum medicum

Description

Copper print shows the healing tree Cock's comb tree or Coral tree (Erythrina crista-galli). It is traditionally used in some cultures for various medicinal purposes. Some parts of the plant, such as the bark and flowers, are used in traditional medicine, for example, to treat fever, inflammation, or to promote wound healing.

ca. 1740

Artist

Franceschelli

Historical Description

Plant science, or botany, deals in detail with the diversity of the plant world and tries to bring it into a system. The plants are examined in terms of structure, growth, life cycle, reproduction, metabolism and chemical properties. Plant science is one of the oldest sciences: people have been studying the effects of certain plants since early on. What was of interest was whether these were edible or of a healing nature. Today, five sub-areas make up botany. Plant morphology studies plant structure and form. This includes the internal and external structure as well as the structure of the plant cell. Plant physiology examines functional processes such as metabolism. Plant systematics brings order to the plant world. It describes precisely the different types of plants. Geobotany deals with the location of the plants. This includes the interaction between the plant and its environment. Ecophysiology explores to what extent and why plants have adapted to their environment in the past. This is particularly interesting because this also happens in environments with hostile conditions.