Peter Forsskål was a Swedish-speaking Finnish botanist and follower of the teachings of Carl Linnaeus. From 1742, Forsskål studied at Uppsala University in Sweden where he was taught by Linnaeus and the orientalist Karl Aurivillius.

In 1753, he travelled to Göttingen to continue his studies at the city’s university. There he learned Arabic and in 1760 was chosen to accompany a Danish scientific expedition to Syria, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. Led by Carsten Niebuhr, the six-man party travelled to Egypt and then into Yemen where Forsskål was occupied in studying and collecting specimens of the region’s natural history.

The expedition was unsuccessful and all except Niebuhr died on the journey. This book, Flora Ægypticaco-Arabica, was edited by Niebuhr from Forsskål’s manuscript notes and published in 1775. A companion volume on the animals of the region was also published the same year (RCIN 1055629). The books are notable for Forsskål’s use of local names as well as scientific names for his specimens.