Ethnobotany

Similarly, a large fraction of the drugs used today in modern medicine are derived from plants. In North America, for example, about 25% of prescription drugs are derived from plants, 13% from microorganisms, and 3% from animals. In addition, most recreational drugs are products of plants or fungi. Several familiar examples are: acetylsalicylic acid (or ASA), a pain-killer originally derived from the plant meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria); cocaine, a local anaesthetic and recreational drug derived from the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca); morphine, a pain-killer derived from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum); vinblastine and vincristine, two anti-cancer drugs extracted from the rosy periwinkle (Catharantus roseus); and taxol, an anti-cancer drug derived from the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia).

In almost all cases, the usefulness of medicinal plants was well known to local, indigenous people, who had long exploited the species in traditional, herbal medicinal practices. Once these uses became discovered by ethnobotanists, a much greater number of people were able to experience their medicinal benefits.