Plant embryogenesis in medieval thought: Dino del Garbo’s commentary on Hippocrates’ De natura foetus

Abstract This paper investigates the Recollectiones in Hippocratem De natura foetus , a unique Latin commentary on the Hippocratic embryological treatise, composed in the early fourteenth century by the Florentine physician Dino del Garbo. While the original Hippocratic text is concise, Dino expands it significantly, offering a rich and systematic exploration of the analogies between plant and animal generation. His commentary stands out not only as the sole known Latin interpretation of this Hippocratic work, but also as an exceptional instance of botanical inquiry within the medical-philosophical framework connected to the Bolognese medical school. Focusing on passages that address plant embryonic development, the study highlights Dino’s systematic use of analogies between animal and vegetal reproduction, particularly through his discussion of seed-based generation and vegetative propagation. Philosophical works such as the Pseudo-Aristotelian De plantis and, though not explicitly cited, Albert the Great’s De vegetabilibus appear to inform the broader conceptual background of the commentary. His reflections on seed anatomy, sexual differentiation, and the distribution of the vegetative soul reveal an effort to reconcile observations in plant science with a rigorous philosophical approach. By integrating Hippocratic empiricism with Aristotelian natural philosophy, Dino del Garbo offers a rare contribution to medieval plant science—one that bridges medical theory, botanical physiology, and metaphysical inquiry.