Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40 AD in Anazarba, Turkey - ca 90 AD) was a Greekphysician whose de materia Medica (on Medical Matters) is an important source on the knowledge of medicinal plants used by the Greeks and Romans. The book was widely used in early herbals. Dioscorides served as legionary physician under Claudius and Nero. Illustrated copies of his treatises survive as manuscripts from the 5th and 7th centuries; there exist early translations as well.
