Economic Botany at the Field Museum

The Field Museum in Chicago has had an interest in the study of how people use plants, since it's founding. Its economic botany collection is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The collection includes over 12,000 specimens of raw materials and finished products of plant origin, such as: gums, resins, food crops, spices, medicinal plants, fibers, woods and many other useful plant products.

“The collection documents the past, present and current uses of plants around the world and can provide valuable information for future developments in such areas as agriculture, medicine and the textile industry ” (Field Museum). The Natural Products Initiative at the museum highlights the study of the economic botany at the museum. This initiative seeks to develop and promote ecologically sound practices for human use of plant and animal products and to make the public aware of our dependence on the natural world to provide these resources.

Link: Economic Botany at the Field Museum from the Field Museum, Chicago

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:56 PM on March 29, 2005