The onion is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. Pliny the Elder documented Roman beliefs about the onion's ability to improve ocular ailments, aid in sleep, and heal everything from oral sores and toothaches to dog bites, lumbago, and even dysentery. The Hortus Sanitatis (Garden of Health), the first natural history encyclopedia, was published by Jacob Meydenbach in Germany, 1491.

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Hortus Sanitatis, Onion, 1547

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