Medicinal Plants and their Traditional Uses

Plants have always played key roles in mans civilizations. Many plants have been used traditionally as medicines or have been assigned some other cultural significance. In the Caribbean some of the knowledge of plants and their uses would have originated in Western Africa and brought to the region by slaves. Some of this knowledge would also have originated with the Caribs who were indigenous to the region. This knowledge was handed down from generation to generation. This knowledge however may have evolved over time as new uses were discovered for some plants, or there were inputs from other cultures (including Western medicine).

The study of plants and their traditional uses and significance is known as Ethnobotany. At Andromeda we have initiated the collection of plants used traditionally in Barbados for medicinal purposes. These plants along with information on their traditional uses will be prominently displayed at a single location within the gardens.

We have created a database of plants used for medicinal purposes in Barbados  This database includes local and scientific names, location of plant populations on the island and notes on the traditional usage of the plants. Click here to view our medicinal plant database for Barbados.

Click here to view photos of some of our collection.

Medicinal Plant links

http://www.herbmed.org/index.asp

http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/peopleplants/wp/wp1/africa1.htm

Disclaimer

Our aim is to provide information on traditional plant use, but we do not recommend  trying any of the suggested treatments without consultation with a recognized physician.