Eastern Illinois University (EIU): Plant Usage and Culture in China

Ethnobotany is an investigation of past and present human dependence on plants, emphasizing plants used as foods and medicines. This course is an on site exploration of the diverse ways in which plants form an integral part of modern China and its history. By studying how plants have been or are used in human societies, ethnobotany also gains insight into the complex relationship between plant uses and cultures. A growing interest in ethnobotany is seen since the 1990's because of pharmaceutical applications. Although chemically-synthesized drugs replaced plants as the main medicinal source in the recent history of human civilization, especially in industrialized countries, plants are again considered as a significant source of new pharmaceuticals. Industries are now interested in exploring parts of the world where plant medicine remains the predominant form of dealing with illness.