Francisco Hernández de Toledo (c. 1515 – 28 January 1587) was a naturalist and court physician to Philip II of Spain.

[1] From 1556 to 1560 Hernández served as a physician at the Hospital y Monasterio de Guadalupe in Extremadura, where he managed the botanical garden and took part in the anatomical dissections with Francisco Miró.

During this time, Hernández also became a prolific writer, penning commentaries on Galen and Hippocrates, and undertaking an ambitious translation of Pliny's Natural History.

He had to show respect toward medieval medicine's own mixture of mythical creatures, magical powers, and miraculous events, and mysterious sympathies while fulfilling his professional mission and recording his personal evaluation of native health practices.

Hernández also described plants and animals in detail and analyzed Nahua traditions and practices including their geography, climate, and anthropological considerations in his writings.

Fabio Colonna, a member of the Accademia de Lincei (Latin for "Academy of the Lynx-eyed"), was the first to publish the work of Hernández.

[6] Ulisse Aldrovandi, a prominent Italian scientist, was interested in Hernández's work and played a pivotal role in developing European botanical studies.

In 1615, Nardo Antonio Recchi published the first edition of Francisco Hernández's extensive descriptions of his findings in a translated collection entitled Plantas y Animales de la Nueva Espana, y sus virtudes por Francisco Hernández, y de Latin en Romance por Fr.

A heavily redacted compendium in the original Latin was later published as Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus (Rome, 1628) by collector, Federico Cesi.

Another impression was put out by Johannes Schreck and Fabio Colonna as Nova plantarum, animalium et mineralium mexicanorum historia a Francisco Hernández in indis primum compilata, de inde a Nardo Antonio Reccho in volumen digesta (Rome: Vital Mascardi, 1648).

), the mamey or Hitian zaptote (Lucma domingenis Gaertner), the quauhchchioalli or breast tree (Rhus terebinthifolia Schlecht and Ham.

), the tozcuitlapilxochitl or cana de cuentas (C. anna indica C.), the armadillo (Dasypus novemcuinctus), the coyote (Canis latrans), and the bird of paradise (Paradisa apoda).

King Philip II may have chosen to delegate the job to Recchi following Hernández's divergence from his original mission.

Benito Montano had claimed, "Hernández had become too friendly with the heathen natives and neglected to instruct and convert them to European ways.