Dendrobium Orchids and Medicine

Dr Jaqui Bowman is co-director of the Benjamen Rush Medicinal Plant Garden in Philadelphia , at the College of Philadelphia Physicians which grows and displays  medicinal plants from colonial, indigenous, enslaved and modern times in five different garden beds. The webinar reports on the Dendrobium Orchid Project, funded by the American Orchid Society which informs the public of the roles of orchids, and specifically Dendrobium in traditional medicines.  It gives an overview of over 100 Orchids used in indigenous and traditional medicines, then, focusing on the 7 most commonly used in modern medicine: Bletilla, Cypripedium, Dendrobium, Gastrodia, Vanilla, Vanda and Habenaria highlights where they are found and their traditional and modern medicinal uses. Focusing in on dendrobiums, the project then identifies the key medicinal species, the specific diseases and conditions treated, the chemical compounds involved and their importance in modern medicine, especially in diabetes, cancer, snakebites, deworming and skin diseases. The project closes with a plea for conservation of the natural habitats of these important plants. This is an informative and stunningly presented project which will be of interest to those concerned about traditional and modern medicinal uses, and conservation and sustainable use.