The author, Abraham Munting (1626-83), was an eminent professor of botany and chemistry at the University of Groningen. He travelled extensively and returning to Groningen he founded one of the most extensive botanical gardens of the time. Munting wrote several works but he is most known for his posthumous ‘Naauwkeurige Beschryving der Aardgewassen’ published in 1696. The stunning plates depict plants set in or floating above landscape gardens, a major break from the usual depictions to date. Hunt describes it as a weird and fascinating work: ‘The plates are as curious as their subjects. They commonly present the plants far larger than life, oranges huge as pumpkins, cyclamens with heavy corms floating lightly in mid-air, gently geraniums grown into giant trees. The effect is obtained through sketching in classical or idyllic or mountainous little landscapes below.’ The Latin names are present on scrolls and tablets. Hunt (1958) 404; Nissen BBI (1966) 1428; ‘Oak Spring Flora’ (1997) pp. 172-5.