About the Author
Wendy Applequist earned her Ph.D. in plant
systematics from Iowa State University and is an assistant curator in the
William L. Brown Center for Plant Genetic Resources at the Missouri Botanical
Garden. She conducts research on the botany of medicinal plants and plants native
to Madagascar. She has previously published articles in several journals,
including Systematic Botany, Taxon, Plant Systematics and
Evolution, Evolution and Development, Pharmazie, Flora,
and Adansonia. This is her first book.
About the Artist
Barbara Alongi is a scientific illustrator based
at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Her illustrations accompany many descriptions
of new species of plants as well as monographic treatments. She is an
illustrator for the Flora of North America project.
About the American Botanical Council
Founded in 1988, the American Botanical Council
is a leading international nonprofit organization addressing research and
educational issues regarding herbs, teas, medicinal plants, essential oils, and
other beneficial plant-derived materials. ABC's members include academic
researchers and educators; libraries; health professionals and medical
institutions; government agencies; members of the herb, dietary supplement,
cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries; journalists; consumers; and others in
more than 81 countries.
The organization occupies a historic 2.5-acre
site in Austin, Texas, where it maintains medicinal theme gardens and hosts
internships for healthcare professionals, seminars, presentations, and
workshops. ABC publishes the peer-reviewed quarterly journal HerbalGram,
the monthly e-publication HerbalEGram, the weekly e-newsletter Herbal News
& Events, HerbClip (summaries of scientific and clinical publications), the
quarterly Botanical Adulterants Monitor, reference books, and other educational
materials.
ABC is also the managing partner of the
ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program, an international consortium
dedicated to education regarding quality control of herbs, botanical extracts,
and essential oils. ABC also hosts HerbMedPro, a powerful herbal database,
covering scientific and clinical publications on more than 250 herbs. ABC co-produces
the "Herbal Insights" segment for Healing Quest, a television series
on PBS.
About the Missouri Botanical Garden
The oldest continuously operating botanical
garden west of the Mississippi, the Missouri Botanical Garden of St. Louis is
an award-winning horticultural and educational institution whose many public
attractions run the gamut from an old-fashioned herb garden to a brand-new
Children's Garden. Behind the scenes, it is also one of the world's most active
centers for botanical systematic and floristic research, with about 150
full-time research staff who conduct field studies in dozens of countries every
year. The Garden's mission is "To discover and share knowledge about
plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life". The
Garden's William L. Brown Center for Plant Genetic Resources focuses its
research specifically on the identification, scientific study, and preservation
of plants that are of direct use to humans.