Judith Sumner, Botanist and author of The Natural History of Medicinal Plants, will present a fascinating lecture on Sunday, November 8 beginning at 9 in the morning. Before the time of written records, early people used plants to relieve symptoms and cure disease, forming the basis of the modern study of ethnobotany and the starting point for the history of medicinal plants. During this one session intensive course on the history and current directions of medicinal botany, to be held at Garden in the Woods, we will track the knowledge of medicinal plants from prehistory through the spectacular work of the Renaissance herbalists, the Doctrine of Signatures, and the development of the European medical tradition. New World settlers carried the seeds of medicinal plants with them to North America, where European medical knowledge commingled with Native American lore. The class will consider herbal medicine in nineteenth century America, the field of zoopharmacognosy, and the current ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery. You will gain an understanding of human-plant interactions and botanical cures for human disease and the importance of preserving the diversity of medicinal plants.
Fee $77 member of either the Arnold Arboretum of NEWFS, $91 nonmember
Offered in collaboration with the New England Wild Flower Society. To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.