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The Pharmaceutical Garden

The Pharmaceutical Garden is a display of plants which yield therapeutic compounds of proven value in current medicinal practice and are in world-wide use today.

The beds are arranged according to the use of the drug derived from the plants. The collection includes plants such as Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle) which contains alkaloids used in anti-cancer drugs. Digitalis lanata (Woolly Foxglove) which contains a cardiac glycoside (digoxin) that is extracted directly from the leaves and is used to control and prevent abnormal heart rhythms and strengthen the heart beat. Filipendula ulmaria (Meadowsweet) is the plant from which salicylic acid was first made in 1835, leading to the introduction of aspirin in 1899. Hordeum vulgare (Barley) led to the synthesis of lignocaine which is universally used as a local anaesthetic.

Full list of plants in these beds

Oncology Camptotheca acuminata, Catharanthus roseus , Papaver somniferum, Podophyllum hexandrum, Podophyllum peltatum, Taxus baccata, Taxus brevifolia ENT & Lung Disease Ammi visnaga, Atropa belladonna, Camellia sinensis, Datura stramonium, Ephedra distachya, Podophyllum hexandrum, Podophyllum peltatum Dermatology Ammi majus, Capsicum annuum, Dioscorea macrostachya, Hordeum vulgare, Oenothera biennis, Ricinus communis Cardiology Ammi visnaga, Atropa belladonna, Digitalis lanata, Melilotus officinalis, Papaver somniferum Analgesia/Anaesthesia Colchicum autumnale, Filipendula ulmaria, Hordeum vulgare, Hyoscyamus niger, Mandragora officinarum, Papaver somniferum, Scopolia carniolica Neurology/Rheumatology Capsicum annuum, Datura stramonium, Oenothera biennis, Salix phylicifolia Psychiatry Narcissus species, Valeriana officinalis, Vicia faba Ophthalmology Atropa belladonna Parasitology Artemisia annua, Tanacetum cinerarifolium, Cinchona pubescens var. succiruba, Dryopteris filix-mas, Podophyllum hexandrum Gastroenterology Glycyrrhiza glabra, Mentha x piperita, Rheum palmatum

Two views of the pharmaceutical beds