Herbarius: A New Herbal for the Anthropocene

Medicinal Plants, Colonial Weeds, and Biodiversity Loss an article about this series on The Collation, a Folger Shakespeare Library blog.

Herbarius: A New Herbal for the Anthropocene is a “deconstructed manuscript” that traces the global dispersal of non-native plant species through traditional medicinal herbs, now despised as weeds. This series is based on the Herbarius Latinus (1484), the first illustrated herbal book, printed before the intercontinental exchange of plants, animals, and diseases. 

These plants carry a quiet story of empire, migration and ecological disruption, told through culturally valued medicinal herbs, initially transported around the world by colonial settlers for their “physic gardens”. My research revealed that more than a third of the 150 plants in the Herbarius Latinus are targeted by herbicides used in industrial-scale monoculture plantations, found within invasive species databases, or listed in the marketing materials for the chemical control of weeds in private and public landscaping.

My illustrations are inspired by the medieval stylistic qualities of the original woodblocks: symmetry, symbolism and simplicity of form. I copy excerpts from the Herbarius Latinus text using brush and ink calligraphy, and write marginalia in cursive script along the borders of each raw canvas “page”, using modern botanical terminology to describe each plant. The chemical formulae of herbicides recommended to kill each plant decorate the lower border. These toxic chemicals have cumulative, detrimental effects that disrupt entire ecosystems, from microbes through mammals, further escalating biodiversity decline across multiple species.

By focusing on weeds, I highlight the interconnection of all species, as ongoing habitat loss, chemical inputs and climate change accelerate the global biodiversity crisis.