Plants | Washington State Magazine | Washington State University

Spring 2019

Soil health research at WSU

While Washington State University has long been known for wheat breeding and other significant crop and plant research, the University’s scientists have also made significant strides in understanding the importance of soil and soil health.

Here are just a few articles on findings and research at WSU on soil health; you can find more at WSU News and on the Crop and Soil Sciences website. You can also read more about influential soil scientist Jim Cook in “Soil Man” (in this issue).

“Till tomorrow” (WSM Fall 2016)

Scientists at the WSU Cook … » More …

Fall 2017

Medicinal plants

At least 10 percent of the 250 most essential modern medicines are derived from flowering plants.

Aspirin (genus Salix) Known to the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians, Hippocrates in about 400 BCE mentions the use of salicylic tea as a fever reducer. Willow bark extracts have been a standard component of the European pharmacopoeia ever since. Modern aspirin was first synthesized in 1853.

Cinnamon bark (obtained from the inner bark of trees of the genus Cinnamomum) While there is no scientific evidence of its efficacy (yet), cinnamon has been used medicinally for at least 4,000 years, especially in Ayurvedic medicine. The word derives from an ancient Phoenician one … » More …