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Dioscorea- Named after the ancient Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides.
Pedanius Dioscorides (Greek: Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης Pedanios Dioskouridēs; c. 40 – 90 AD) was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of De Materia Medica (Ancient Greek: Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς, On Medical Material) —a 5-volume Greek encyclopedia about herbal medicine and related medicinal substances (a pharmacopeia), that was widely read for more than 1,500 years. He was employed as a physician in the Roman army.