Orchidaceae is the second largest family of flowering plants with nearly 35,000 species in more than 850 genera. The whole family is endangered of survival due to habitat loss, fragmentation of populations, genetic drift and huge anthropogenic pressures. The Chinese were the first to cultivate and describe orchids for their medicinal uses. Theophrastus reported the medicinal properties of orchi...

Panax notoginseng, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, has been cultivated and domesticated for approximately 400 years, mainly in Yunnan and Guangxi, two provinces in southwest China. This species was named according to cultivated rather than wild individuals, and no wild populations had been found until now. The genetic resources available on farms are important for both breeding practices...

Recognition of genetic reserves and desirable genes is the basis of breeding programs. So far, in Iran, due to the lack of recognition of genetic resources, a considerable breeding program has not been done on native plants. The study of the genetic diversity of violets as a native plant with ornamental and medicinal uses is the great importance in advancing the breeding goals of this plant. So...

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a multipurpose plant that is important as nutrition, medical, horticulture, landscape and environment. The plant has been cultivated since old Iran and Egypt which is mentioned in Bible and Quran. Origin of the plant is Iran and some neighbour countries, although it is cultivated in many countries, now a day. Botanically, it is classified in Punicaceae and ha...

Early nineteenth century Brazil saw a vibrant movement to study nature, including a number of expeditions aimed at gathering a corpus of knowledge on Brazilian flora. One of the main goals of these expeditions was to map and identify plant species of economic and therapeutic value. The government undertook and sponsored various initiatives, and it was within this context that the Bahian voyager...