Many times the alleged activity was associated with healing from one plant to the similarity it had, in form and feature, the unit on which it was intended to act. Consequently, it was given a name allegorical. Thus, the root of the mandrake-very toxic plant, has a shape that resembles the shape of a human body for what our ancestors understood that should be adequate to promote fertility. And in the same way, pulmonaria (believed to represent stained leaves the surface of a diseased lung with tuberculous nodules) would be appropriate to treat lung ailments, the fruit of the walnut (nuts) would be good to improve brain activity etc.
In short, the conventional wisdom about the healing properties of plants is part of the cultural heritage of peoples. Ethnobotany denominating the part of the science that deals with the study of the information accumulated over many years.
More modernly, from this knowledge, science begin to investigate the curative or therapeutic actual usable plants, determine their chemical composition and separate the different active principles. (more…)
