Flora Pharmaceutica e alimentar portugueza, ou tractado daquelles vegetaes indigenas de Portugal, e outros nelle cultivados, cujos produtos são usados, ou susceptiveis de se usar como remedios e alimentos, distibuidos segundo o Systema Linneano em Classes, Ordens, Generos, e Especies com os seus caracteres genericos, e específicos

This book is a hard-working study aiming to cover all Portuguese flora with pharmacological properties or useful for human food consumption.

The book is organized by the scientific name of each plant according to the system proposed by Carl Lineu (by classes, orders, genera and species), including the description of their generic and specific characteristics, namely the roots, stems, leaves, flowering, fruit, seed, smell, taste, cultivation area and referring also which one is more suitable for food or pharmacological use.

The plants are identified by their common name, including the different regional designations of each one. This concern of the author makes this book very useful in identifying the different varieties of plants that existed across the country. As the book was written in the early 19th century, it presents corrections to some mistakes or taxonomic generalizations found in works previously published by several naturalists, namely by Domenico Vandelli and Félix de Avelar Brotero. These scientists gathered data collected by others or travelled around the country trying to conclude the mapping of Portuguese flora.

A.R.