Includes index and bibliographical references.

1. Confluence of traditions : traditional medicine, 16th and 17th centuries -- 2. The observations of Alcina : a catalog of traditional remedies for everyday life -- 3. Botanical expeditions and scientific investigations : traditional medicine in the Spanish enlightenment, 18th and 19th century -- 4. Belief and science : traditional medicine in the 19th century -- 5. The scientific identification and practical application of Philippine medicinal plants and herbs -- 6. Making the topics habitable and healthful : traditional medicine, the state, and the beginnings of public health.

From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, Spanish missionaries collected, studied, and made records of Philippine medicinal plants and herbs that Filipino traditional medical practitioners or herbolarios had been prescribing since the precolonial period. Because herbolarios left no writings about their practices, the missionaries' works are our primary sources for studying Filipino traditional medicine.