MAPROW (Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Resources of the World) is a stand-alone offline database managed and owned by Uwe Schippmann.
Background
The database MAPROW is designed to hold and provide conservation-related information of plant taxa which are internationally used or traded as medicinal and aromatic plants sensu lato. It is currently not accessible online. Sample factsheets of selected species can be downloaded here.
Extrapolation from well-researched regions suggests that 56,000 to 72,000 higher plant species are used to some degree for their medicinal and aromatic properties. A checklist of all medicinal plants world-wide does not exist. The MAPROW database attempts to fill this gap.
The content of the database also forms the basis for assessing the vulnerability or resilience of MAP taxa against over-collection, e.g. during the application process for the FairWild Standard. This has led to the elaboration of data-rich factsheets covering nomenclature, taxonomy, distribution, ecology, trade, and threat assessments for a number of plant taxa.
Understanding the term “medicinal plant”
Uses of plant species often overlap. In MAPROW, the term “medicinal and aromatic plants” (MAP) includes plants used to produce pharmaceuticals, dietary supplement products and natural health products, beauty aids, cosmetics, and personal care products, as well as some products marketed in adjacent sectors (culinary/food, dyes).
Sources of Information
MAPROW data is based on a large number of relevant medicinal plant sources such as pharmacopeias, checklists, and encyclopedias. Pharmacopoieas play a major role as data sources because they summarize current use of plant species in a standardized format in many geographical areas of the world. Incorporation of sources is an ongoing process and will continue.
All information entered in MAPROW is referenced to a source, normally a literature reference, but also grey literature and internet sources.
Content
Presently, MAPROW contains some 21,000 accepted medicinal plant names. The majority of taxa covered are flowering plants but it also includes some algae, bryophytes, lichens, and fungi.
Only those species have been included in MAPROW which are (or have been) used for MAP purposes either traditionally or commercially and the use is referenced in at least one publication.
Apart from taxonomic and nomenclatural data, MAPROW holds a wide range of information on common names, distribution, population status, habitat, ecology, legislation, utilization, commodities, trade data, and threat assessments.
Medicinal Plant Names Services
MAPROW has over the years closely cooperated and exchanged data with the Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) established by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. MPNS includes the scientific, pharmaceutical, trade and common names used for medicinal plants or herbal substances reported to have medicinal use drawn from 199 pharmaceutical or medicinal plant publications. The most recent version 11 covers 34,408 plants from 377 angiosperm or gymnosperm families and provides more than 550,000 unique names used for these plants or herbal substances.
Taxonomic and nomenclatural accuracy
MAPROW tries to provide nomenclaturally correct and taxonomically accepted plant names. Wherever possible, the names used in the sources are verified and referenced using standard taxonomic references such as the Kew World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) which is also embedded within MPNS and the Plants of the World Online (POWO).
Literature References
- Brummitt, R.K. (2001): World geographical scheme for recording plant distribution. Second edition. – xv+137 pp., Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
- Schippmann, U., Leaman, D. & Cunningham, A.B. (2006): A comparison of cultivation and wild collection of medicinal and aromatic plants under sustainability aspects. – In: Bogers, R.J., Craker, L.E. & Lange, D. (ed.): Medicinal and aromatic plants. Agricultural, commercial, ecological, legal, pharmacological and social aspects. pp. 75-95, Springer, Dordrecht (Wageningen UR Frontis Series 17).
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by Uwe Schippmann, 25.1.2023