10th April 2025
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22: 1-2
The RHS reminds us that plants – and frequently their leaves – are important for the medicinal properties. “Many familiar garden plants were first grown for their healing properties rather than their appearance, and many common herbs were valued as much for medicinal uses as they were in the kitchen.” (1)
Whilst the Lancet notes “Human health has been inextricably linked to the use of herbal medicines for millennia, making natural medicinal resources one of the oldest contributions of nature to human wellbeing. Human health has been inextricably linked to the use of herbal medicines for millennia, making natural medicinal resources one of the oldest contributions of nature to human wellbeing.1,2 However, increasing global change in the anthropocene is jeopardising the future of these contributions to societies…Bioactive compounds produced by plants and their endophytes are integral parts of ecosystems, participating in fundamental ecological processes and contributing essential health benefits to populations globally. The current lack of transdisciplinary frameworks for evaluating medicinal biodiversity as a central component of planetary health hinders the ability to sustainably manage that biodiversity and fully benefit from its potential contributions to human societies.”
(2)
The natural world is very much there for the promotion of health and wellbeing in so many different ways – and we humans need to be more caring and appreciative of all that it is there for our mutual benefit.
(2) https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(22)00317-5/fulltext