Nearly all cultures, from ancient times to today, have used plants as a source of medicine. In many developing countries, traditional medicine is still the mainstay of health care and most of the drugs and cures used come from plants. In developed countries many people are turning to herbal remedies. With this widespread use has come the assumption that plants identified as having medicinal qualities will be available on a continuing basis. However no concerted effort has been made to ensure this and in the face of the threats of increasing demand, a vastly increasing human population and...