This manual was prepared as part of a project to study the botany of medicinal plants under the auspices of the University of Missouri—Columbia’s Center for Phytonutrient and Phytochemical Studies (MUCPPS), within which the Missouri Botanical Garden is a collaborative partner. Its publication was made possible by grant number DHHS 5 P01 ES10535 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIEHS, NCCAM, or NIH. The support and encouragement of MU staff affiliated with the Center, especially that of Center Director Dennis Lubahn, PhD, William Folk, PhD, Michelle Reinerd, Debbie Blaisdell and Elizabeth Miller, are greatly appreciated. We also thank NIEHS and Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) personnel, including Michael McClure, PhD, Paul Coates, PhD, Christine Swanson, PhD, and Mary Frances Picciano, PhD, for their support for the Center.
Support from the Missouri Botanical Garden is also much appreciated. We are especially grateful to Greg Gust, who checked and proofread large amounts of text, collected and processed plant samples, and produced much of the glossary, and to James S. Miller, PhD, the Head of the William L. Brown Center for Plant Genetic Resources, who offered unstinting support throughout a lengthy process. We also thank Fred Keusenkothen for converting pen-and-ink illustrations into computer files, Victoria Hollowell, PhD and Kevin Brown for advice on and assistance with printing, Adam Bradley and Heidi Schmidt for participation in field work to collect samples of medicinal plants, and Larry Havermann, Besa Schweitzer and Scott Woodbury for cultivating plants at MBG’s Shaw Nature Reserve.
We thank Mark Anderson, PhD (Triarco), Steven Foster, and Bill Popin (Nature’s Herbs) for helpful advice at an early stage (although they are in no way responsible for the eventual choice of content), and Lynn Clark, PhD (Iowa State University) for sharing her formula for Modified Pohl’s Solution. We greatly appreciate the contributions of Krzysztof Spalik, PhD (Warsaw University), who provided detailed technical descriptions for fruits of the carrot family. We thank those who peer reviewed the manuscript: Arthur Tucker, PhD of Delaware State University, Trish Flaster of Botanical Liaisons, and Josef Brinckmann of Traditional Medicinals. Finally, we thank the American Botanical Council for their enthusiasm for the project; the support of Mark Blumenthal andWayne Silverman, PhD was particularly appreciated. Last, but by no means least, we thank Tara Hall for managing the completion and publication of this book, Martin Manuel for designing the cover, and Sean Barnes for his efforts in assembling the illustrations.
