The magnificent manuscript, Egerton MS 747, is one of the most precious documents in the British Library. It is the first time this Italian manuscript from around 1300 AD has been reproduced in any depth, printed here in full colour on paper specially made to simulate vellum. It contains a vast corpus of information about plants and their uses, from Greek, Roman and Arabic sources, combined with 406 botanical paintings. The book covers an extraordinary range of vegetables, fruits and minerals, along with instructions on how to prepare each substance.