Medical flora: or, Manual of the medical botany of the United States of North America

Binomial names often reflect contemporary networks of science and letters. For example, C. S. Rafinesque's use of the name Jeffersonia bartoni reflects the naming of this plant by Benjamin Smith Barton in honor of his friend Thomas Jefferson.

Rafinesque is of particular interest in the context of Dumbarton Oaks because his work encompassed not only botanical observations but also archaeological work on Mesoamerican sites, as well as an attempt to decipher Mayan script. His botanical work is much more credible than his archaeological or linguistic contributions, which include the Walum Olum, a document many now believe to have been a hoax.