The Value of Plants in the Medicinal World

Posted by Sharon Falsetto Nov 7, 2008

Most of my articles over the past couple of weeks have had a similar thread running through them, that of the value of plants in the medicinal world. The Ebers Papyrus of Ancient Egypt provides us with ancient evidence of the use of plants by the Egyptians. There is also evidence that the Chinese and the Indians realised the value of plants from early beginnings.

The ancient and biblical essential oils of both Myrrh and Frankincense are perhaps remembered for their uses as gifts to the baby Jesus, but they have had a number of other important uses over the years.

The Romans were aware of the the medicinal use of plants too; in my article, The Lost Medicinal Plants of Pompeii, you can discover how plants have been preserved in the volcanic ash from the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., providing us with knowledge of the plants used at that time.

Plants have been known to many indigenous tribes for centuries for their medicinal value and the rainforests of Borneo hold many secrets within their lush canopies; however, if the destruction of our rain forests continues we may be at risk of losing some of these valuable plants forever. The Native Americans have also used many indigenous plants for both medicinal value and as food.

And finally, as we approach Veteran's Day on November 11, you may be interested to know what medicinal properties the poppy holds and how to identify different poppy species.

The world of plants provides us with a fascinating insight into the usefulness of plants in our world today; in fact some plants may hold the cure for such diseases as Cancer and Aids, demonstrating that the value of plants is priceless in our world today, as others have discovered from long ago. As the modern way advances in technology, we should not forget the value of our plant world.