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Sources & Methodology — How We Verify Our Botanical Texts

Every poster text in the Herbarium Prints collection is written using evidence-based language verified against authoritative pharmacological and botanical sources. We follow the European Medicines Agency (EMA) convention of "traditionally used for" and never make curative claims. Below are the primary sources consulted for our 157 plant profiles.

Pharmacological authorities (primary sources)

  • EMA/HMPC Assessment Reports and Community Herbal Monographs (European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products) — primary source for traditional use statements, well-established use status, and safety data. 18 of 30 Global-series plants have formal EMA HMPC monographs.
  • WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants, Volumes 1–4 (World Health Organization) — international reference for traditional uses, pharmacology, and dosage.
  • European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) — official monographs for herbal drugs including Matricariae flos, Valerianae radix, Hyperici herba, Millefolii herba, Lavandulae flos, and 60+ others referenced in our collection.
  • German Commission E Monographs (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte) — the world's first systematic regulatory evaluation of herbal medicines, covering 380 herbal drugs.
  • ESCOP Monographs (European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy) — peer-reviewed monographs on medicinal plant products.
  • PubMed / PubMed Central — peer-reviewed pharmacological, phytochemical, and clinical studies. Used to verify active compound identifications, mechanisms of action, and traditional use claims.
  • United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and King's American Dispensatory — referenced for Americas-series plants with U.S. pharmaceutical history.

Historical & ethnobotanical sources

Nordic / Scandinavian

  • Henrik Harpestreng, Den danske urtebog (c. 1244) — the earliest Nordic pharmacopoeia
  • Simon Paulli, Flora Danica (1648)
  • Old West Nordic pharmacopoeia fragments (13th century)
  • Oseberg ship excavation records (834 CE, Vestfold, Norway)
  • Egtved Girl burial analysis (c. 1370 BCE, Denmark)
  • Bergfjord et al. 2012, "Nettle as a distinct Bronze Age textile," Scientific Reports
  • Karg 2012, "Medieval plant cultivation in Scandinavian monastery gardens," Danish Journal of Archaeology
  • Vanhanen et al. 2025, "Flax processing at Tjudnäs," Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
  • MDPI Religions 2021 — Scandinavian monastery gardens study
  • Sipponen & Jokinen 2016, "Spruce resin salve in treating wounds," PMC
  • Moe & Oeggl 2014 — Birka coprolite analysis (Viking mead composition)
  • Samuelsen 2000, Journal of Ethnopharmacology — Nordic ethnobotany
  • Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen
  • Finnish Intangible Cultural Heritage inventory

European classical & medieval

  • Dioscorides, De Materia Medica (c. 50–70 CE)
  • Leonhart Fuchs, De historia stirpium (1542)
  • Hieronymus Bock, Kreutterbuch (1539)
  • John Gerard, The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes (1597)
  • Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physitian (1652)
  • William Withering, An Account of the Foxglove (1785)
  • Charlemagne, Capitulare de Villis (c. 800 CE)

Americas & colonial

  • Nicolás Monardes, Historia Medicinal (1574) — first European account of American medicinal plants
  • Georg Marcgraf & Willem Piso, Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (1648)
  • Hipólito Ruiz López & José Antonio Pavón — Royal Botanical Expedition to Peru (1777–1788)
  • Popol Vuh (K'iche' Maya creation narrative) — maize mythology

Asian & tropical

  • Shennong Ben Cao Jing (c. 200 CE) — foundational Chinese materia medica
  • Charaka Samhita (c. 100 CE) — foundational Ayurvedic text
  • Tang Materia Medica / Xinxiu Bencao (659 CE) — first state-commissioned pharmacopoeia
  • Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) — ancient Egyptian medical text

Illustration sources

  • Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen in naturgetreuen Abbildungen mit kurz erläuterndem Texte (1887–1914), 4 volumes, 303+ chromolithographic plates. Artists: Walther Otto Müller, C.F. Schmidt, K. Gunther.
  • Biodiversity Heritage Library (biodiversitylibrary.org) — high-resolution scans from Missouri Botanical Garden, Peter H. Raven Library.
  • Wikimedia Commons — community-curated scans with metadata verification.
  • All illustrations are in the public domain. The original works were published between 1887 and 1914; both principal artists (Müller and Schmidt) died in the 19th century.

Methodology note

All traditional use statements follow the EMA HMPC convention of "traditionally used for" and do not constitute curative claims. Active compound identifications are cross-verified against EMA assessment reports, European Pharmacopoeia specifications, and PubMed-indexed pharmacological literature. Historical facts are cross-referenced across multiple academic sources. For plants with toxicity concerns, appropriate safety language is included on all products.