I would attempt to obtain the complete list of plants from the University of Michigan ethnobotanical database, determine how many are not used for fibers or other non medicinal purposes, and then determine how many are annual. Nightshades, Milkweeds, Foxglove and Castor beans are all used medicinally, and also now have derivatives which are employed in heart medications, sleep aids, emergency treatment of organophosphate poisoning, to induce vomiting, and to combat anxiety and airsickness. Plus Milkweed is only mildly toxic and can be eaten readily, the unripe pods are really neat in stir fry.
On Sat, Nov 8, 2014 at 7:04 PM, Malcolm McCallum < malcolm.mccallum.ta...@gmail.com> wrote: > Some of these are considered medicinal, but I don't know if they REALLY > qualify as sources of anything or not. > BTW, might try a seed catalog! ;) > > Poppies produce opium. > Borango officinalis > Arctium lappa > Calendula officinalis > Matricaria recutita > Stellaria media > Coriandrum sativum > Hibiscus sabdariffa > Cymbopogon flexuosus > Lobelia inflata > Silibum marianum > Portulacca oleracae > Capsella bursa-pastoris > Acmella oleracea > Satureja hortensis > Artemesia annua > > Then, some annuals known to be poisonous (the poisons clearly can be used > for other stuff) > milkweeds > nightshade > foxglove ? > Castor Bean (castor oil and ricin) > Water Hemlock (is this a biennial or annual? Can't remember) > > > > > > > On Sat, Nov 8, 2014 at 5:36 PM, David Inouye <ino...@umd.edu> wrote: > > > I'm wondering whether it's possible to generalize about the life > histories > > of medicinal plants. My guess is that annual plants in general don't > > invest much in secondary plant compounds, so that most medicinal plants > > would be perennial (herbs or shrubs). Do you know of any annuals that > are > > important as medicinal plants? > > > > David Inouye > > > > > > Dr. David W. Inouye, Professor Emeritus > > Department of Biology > > University of Maryland > > College Park, MD 20742-4415 > > > > 2014-15: President, Ecological Society of America > > > > Principal Investigator > > Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory > > PO Box 519 > > Crested Butte, CO 81224 > > > > ino...@umd.edu > > 301-405-6946 > > > > > -- > Malcolm L. McCallum, PHD, REP > > > “Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array > of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a > many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers > alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as > Americans.” > -President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 > into law. > > "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan > Nation > > 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert > 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, > and pollution. > 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction > MAY help restore populations. > 2022: Soylent Green is People! > > The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) > Wealth w/o work > Pleasure w/o conscience > Knowledge w/o character > Commerce w/o morality > Science w/o humanity > Worship w/o sacrifice > Politics w/o principle > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any > attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not > the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and > destroy all copies of the original message. >
