<p>Manuscript herbals containing refined pictures of plant species were compiled in Veneto (NE Italy) during the 14th and early 15th century. The earliest (late 15th century) printed herbals, by contrast, are illustrated by rough woodcuts copied from older works, reflecting the conservative character of the coeval botanical science. Plant’s iconography’s rebirth, characterized by an unprecedented scientific approach, began in the 16th century, unrelated to the medieval tradition, as a consequence of the scientific revolution fostered by the Ferrara school of medical humanism. The first example of scientific iconography emerged from the collaboration of the botanist O. Brunfels, a follower of the Ferrara school, with the draughtsman H. Weiditz, a disciple of A. Dürer. A distinctive feature of their work is the faithful depiction of individual plant specimens, including all their peculiarities. The almost contemporary L. Fuchs pursued an opposite way: his woodcuts, drawn by A. Meyer, represent plant species rather than specimens, omitting accidental traits and highlighting only the characteristics of the species. P. A. Mattioli’s treatise, illustrated by G. Liberale and W. Meyerpeck, developed Fuchs’s stylistic option, achieving an unprecedented union of high quality drawings and in-depth analysis of the species and the relevant literature. Wood engraving declined in the second half of the century, with the exception of J. Camerarius, in the eighties, who introduced different scales to represent the entire plant and its details, and marked the end point of wood engraving in botanical iconography. Precise plant images coupled with accurate nomenclature, diffused through printed volumes, were essential to establish a universally accepted botanical nomenclature.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>