Located in Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur District, Kerala, this 27-acre garden draws inspiration from the 17th-century Hortus Malabaricus, the monumental botanical work by Dutch commander Hendrik van Rheede. Dedicated to the conservation and study of Kerala’s native medicinal plants and the endemic flora of the Western Ghats, the garden features over 1,200 species, including 742 documented in van Rheede’s treatise.
This is a plant conservation project by Scigenom Research Foundation (SGRF), a non-profit Trust established by Sam Santhosh in 2010.
For centuries, the Malabar Coast has been a hub of trade and cultural exchange, attracting merchants, scholars, and explorers from across Asia and Europe. The monsoon winds that carried traders to its ports also brought knowledge, creating a unique blend of traditions. Among Malabar’s treasures were its spices, timber, food crops, and naturally dyed textiles. However, its medicinal plants held a special place in the region’s cultural and economic history.
Traditional healers passed down their knowledge of plants and their medicinal properties for generations, codifying it in texts like the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita. These practices formed the foundation of Malabar’s rich medico-botanical heritage.
During the 17th century, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) recognized the importance of local medicinal resources in their Asian colonies. Encouraging research into native flora, they aimed to reduce reliance on imported medicines, which were costly and often lost efficacy during long voyages. This context provided the perfect backdrop for then Dutch Governor of Kochi, Hendrik van Rheede, to begin his ambitious project, which sought to document and preserve Malabar’s plant-based medical knowledge.
Hendrik van Rheede, born in 1636 in Utrecht, Holland, began his career as an officer in the Dutch East India Company (VOC), where he played a key role in military campaigns on the Malabar Coast and in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) against the Portuguese. His administrative acumen and diplomatic skills earned him the position of Governor of Malabar.
Van Rheede’s tenure as Governor immersed him in the cultural and natural wealth of the region. Fascinated by Malabar’s rich biodiversity, particularly its medicinal plants, he developed an enduring respect for the traditional knowledge preserved by its people. This fascination led him to embark on a groundbreaking project—the Hortus Malabaricus (The Garden of Malabar), a comprehensive documentation of the medicinal flora of the region.
Van Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus was conceived as more than a botanical catalog; it served as a significant bridge between local traditions and global scientific inquiry. To realize this vision, Van Rheede assembled a multidisciplinary team that combined indigenous knowledge with European scientific methodology. Among its members were Itty Achuthan, an Ezhava physician whose expertise shaped the documentation of medicinal plant uses; Appu Bhat, Ranga Bhat, and Vinayaka Pandit, practitioners from a traditional aṣṭavaidya family and Konkani scholars of local medical systems; and the Kollat Vaidyans, Nair physicians who verified plant identifications and therapeutic applications.
Contributions also came from Catholic clergy, including Emmanuel Carneiro and Matheus de Castro, who facilitated Latin translations and bridged cultural divides, while European botanists and skilled local artists recorded the plants through detailed copperplate engravings.
Over nearly three decades (1678–1703), the team traversed the Malabar Coast, cataloging 742 plant species. Each was described in Latin, Malayalam, and Konkani, accompanied by precise botanical illustrations, marking a milestone in the synthesis of traditional knowledge and scientific inquiry.
The Hortus Malabaricus, published in Amsterdam in twelve volumes between 1678 and 1693, became a landmark in tropical botany and taxonomy. The work represented a harmonious fusion of Indian traditions and European science, making it one of the earliest collaborative efforts in botanical history. After the specimens were analyzed, the team meticulously compiled comprehensive information on each plant. This included details on nomenclature, habitat, odor, color, taste, descriptions of plant parts, fruiting and flowering seasons, and their applications in industries and local medicinal practices. Contributions from three Brahmin physicians—Ranga Bhat, Vinayaka Pandit, and Appu Bhat, who originally hailed from Goa and later settled in Cochin—were instrumental in this effort.
The Hortus Malabaricus became a foundational reference for the study of Asian flora. It significantly influenced the work of Carl Linnaeus, whose Species Plantarum (1753) built on its taxonomic classifications, many of which were rooted in Itty Achudan’s ancestral knowledge. British botanists such as William Roxburgh and Joseph Dalton Hooker also drew inspiration from its findings.
Beyond its scientific value, the project had broader implications. Van Rheede’s efforts aligned with VOC ambitions to explore and commercialize medicinal resources in their colonies. The book also highlighted Cochin’s potential as a strategic administrative hub for the Dutch Empire in Asia.
The Hortus Malabaricus Book’s detailed botanical descriptions, written nearly 400 years ago and thousands of kilometers from the land they documented, continue to inspire botanists, historians, and anthropologists today.
Today, the legacy of the Hortus Malabaricus endures. Indian botanist K.S. Manilal’s decades-long project to translate, annotate, and study the work has brought it renewed relevance, producing editions in English and Malayalam. These efforts have spotlighted the contributions of local experts like Itty Achudan, highlighting the sophistication of Ezhava medico-botanical traditions. Botanical gardens in Kerala now feature many of the species described in the text, further embedding its cultural and scientific significance.
By recording the plants and their medicinal properties, the work not only celebrated the richness of Malabar’s natural heritage but also ensured that its traditional knowledge endured. It serves as a reminder of the enduring value of preserving indigenous wisdom and the power of collaboration in advancing human understanding.
Over three centuries later, it remains a beacon of ecological and cultural preservation, reminding us of the interconnectedness of knowledge systems and the enduring importance of biodiversity.
The modern version that we are privileged to read, is also coincidentally a 30 years dedication by K S Manilal (1938 – 2025), in which sir has compiled and translated folios from Dutch to Malayalam and English.
(1938 - 2025)
Garden of Malabar
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