Which botanist published the most popular botany book of his time?
John Gerard John Gerard, also spelt John Gerarde, (c. 1545–1612) was a botanist and herbalist. He maintained a large herbal garden in London. His chief notability is as the author of a large (1,484 pages) illustrated "Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes". First published in 1597, it was the most widely circulated botany book in English in the 17th century. Except for the additions of a number of plants from his own garden and from North America, Gerard's "Herbal" is largely an unacknowledged English translation of Rembert Dodoens's herbal originally published in 1554, itself also highly popular (in Dutch, Latin, French and other English translations).
Dominique Villars His main work is "Histoire des plantes du Dauphiné" published between 1786 and 1789, in which about 2,700 species (particularly alpine plants) are described, after over twenty years of observation in the Dauphiné region of southeastern France. His herbarium and botanical manuscripts are preserved at the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Grenoble.