Kilka refleksji na temat roślin leczniczych stosowanych w wojsku na przestrzeni wieków

Plants, including medicinal plants, have been associated with armies and wars for centuries. The written history of military phytotherapy dates back at least to the time of Dioscorides, which is already 2,000 years old. Medicinal plants associated with the military belong to a specific ethnobotanical category of “war plants”, called in French “plantes obdisionales”, a category created by French botanists after the French-Prussian waśr in 1870. The article reminds the army’s relationship with the cinchona tree, the search for quinine substitutes, as well as the search for these trees in Peru during World War II, Richard Schultes’ research. The abovementioned coca is used by the Peruvian army during the War of Independence. The role of the botanical gardens of the French Navy and the front gardens of soldiers during World War I were presented. Military botanicals expeditions in North Africa in the 19th century were mentioned. In conclusion, the author states the important role of the army in the history of medicinal plants and the need to continue research on this issue.