How to Read the Signs William L. Brown Center MEDICINAL PLANTS Plants provide humankind with our most basic Look for these signs denoting resources—food, medicine, fiber, and many other medicinal plants. useful products. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s William L. Brown Center (WLBC) is dedicated to Indicates type of plant the study, description, and conservation of useful plants—and to preserving traditional knowledge about these plants for a sustainable future. The WLBC builds on the Garden’s expertise to ground the study and conservation of useful plants in rigorous science. Learn more about the WLBC at www.wlbcenter.org. You Can Help! Your Garden membership and donation to Country/region of origin the Henry Shaw Fund helps support Garden conservation activities around the world. A tour of medicinal plants Botanical family For more information, call the Office of Institutional Advancement at (314) 577-9500. at the Missouri Botanical Garden Botanical name Common name DISCLAIMER: Image from rare book collection This brochure is for educational purposes only. of the Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden makes no claims to the medicinal effects of these plants. In fact, plants may be harmful or even deadly if taken Did you know? for the wrong conditions, used in excessive amounts, or combined with other drugs. Consult Over 25 percent of our modern drugs derive from plants, and yet less than 2 percent of all plants have your doctor about your health conditions and been thoroughly tested for medical applications. the use of plant-based remedies. The Garden’s active science and conservation M ISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN program, with operations in 38 countries around 4344 Shaw Blvd. • St. Louis, MO 63110 the globe, frequently provides plants for natural (314) 577-9400 • www.mobot.org product discovery programs, which search for compounds that might become drugs. ©2009 Missouri Botanical Garden Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. We cannot know in advance which species could Cover (clockwise from top left): Arabian jasmine provide lifesaving drugs. In the face of accelerating (Alan Stentz), water lilies (Justin Visnesky), habitat destruction and global climate change, nearly illustration of olive (rare book collection). half the world’s plant species may be extinct by the end of the century. Whenever a species goes extinct, we might be losing a cure for cancer or HIV/AIDS. 06/09 M ISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN MEDICINAL PLANT TOUR 5 7. Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden Worldwide, thousands of plant species are The three species featured here are used as medicine. This medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine, walk leads you through gardens that feature which dates back over 2,000 years! different cultures and habitats where you That makes Chinese medicine one 6 can find traditional medicinal plants. 4 of the oldest medical systems still in use, although it has changed over time. 1. Linnean House 8. Kemper Center for Home Stroll through this historic greenhouse and see the Gardening Display Gardens tea plant (Camellia sinensis). Tea is the world’s most Eight medicinal plants are marked popular beverage, and it has proven health benefits! with signs. Can you spot them all? 7 2. Bakewell Ottoman Garden 9. Knolls Plants featured here grow in the Mediterranean and 8 If you walk across the grass, you can find Middle East. Classical Greek and Roman physicians chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), a traditional also used plants from this region. Medieval Europeans botanical from Europe. had great respect for the works of those scholars. They 9 imported many plants mentioned in classical references 10. Climatron® to northern Europe. So-called “English” lavender, for Tropical plants account for 160,000 of the 3 example, never grew naturally in England. earth’s estimated 300,000 species of plants. Many traditional medicines are made from 3. Goodman Iris Garden 10 tropical plants. You will find 13 specially labeled As you walk through the Iris Garden, you can see two medicinal plants inside. medicinal trees: sweetgum and buckthorn. 12 11 11. Shoenberg Temperate House 4. St. Louis Herb Society Herb Garden Five medicinal plants are featured in this greenhouse. Most of the plants in this garden have traditional They include plants from the Mediterranean, Africa, medicinal uses. Plants that are used for cooking, and East Asia. fragrance, or dye often also have medicinal properties. 1 How many of these plants do you use at home? 2 12. Heckmann Rock Garden Three woody medicinal plants are featured here. All 5. Strassenfest German Garden three grow wild in North America. Two (juniper and Many visitors overlook this garden surrounding the elderberry) also grow in Europe, and are used there. Lehmann Building research facility. In Germany, many People in different parts of the world often discover plants are officially approved as medicines. Linden and that the same plants are useful. birch, found in this garden, are two such plants. As you walk north from the Climatron, notice two 6. Cherbonnier English Woodland Garden large trees: ginkgo to the right side of the path, Five medicinal plants are featured in this garden. and Amur cork tree across from the Lopata Azalea- Three are perennial herbs; their roots or rhizomes Rhododendron Garden. Both are used in Chinese are used. Slow-growing woodland plants often have medicine. Ginkgo is perhaps the world’s best potent compounds in their roots. They are exposed researched botanical, while Amur cork tree has not to soil bacteria and fungi for many years and have to For A LargER map, PICK UP A Copy yet been formally studied in humans. defend themselves! OF THE GARDEN GUIDE MAP..