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 Chapter 9: Plants

Plants as Medicine You may have read about using peppermint to relieve an upset stomach, or taking Echinacea, found throughout Texas, to boost your immune system and fight off illness. But did you know that pioneers brewed a cough medicine from lemon mint? In this activity, you will explore plants and their historical use in treating illness, and the benefits and risks associated with using plants as medicine.

How are plants used in maintaining good health?

How do you know that a particular plant helps you stay healthy? If there is conflicting data, how would you evaluate the use of that plant? Form a hypothesis about how to evaluate a plant's use as a medicine.

Goals Identify two plants that can be used as a treatment for illness or as a supplement to support good health. Research the cultural and historical use of the two selected plants as medical treatments. Review multiple sources to understand the effectiveness of each of the two selected plants as medical treatment. Compare and Contrast the research and form a hypothesis about the medicinal effectiveness of each of the two plants.   Data Sources Weblinks View Student Data

Plan Search for information about plants that are used as medicine and identify two plants to investigate. Research how these plants are currently recommended for use as medicine or to promote good health. Find out how each has been used historically. Explore how other cultures used these plants as medicine.   Do Make sure your teacher approves your plan before you proceed. Record your data in your Science Journal.

Write a description of how different cultures have used each plant as medicine. How have the plants you investigated been used as medicine historically? Record all the uses suggested by different sources for each plant. Record the side effects of using each plant as a treatment   After conducting your research, what do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of using these plants as alternative medicines? Describe any conflicting information about using each of these plants as medicine. Based on your analysis, would you recommend the use of each of these two plants to treat illness or promote good health? Why or why not? What would you say to someone who was thinking about using any plant-based, over-the-counter, herbal supplement?

Results

Plant Data Plant Name Historical Use Current Use (if any) Plant Name Historical Use Current Use (if any) Plant Name Historical Use Current Use (if any) Plant Name Historical Use Current Use (if any) * City: * State: Select Your State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Not Applicable * School: * required