Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 59
Table 1.Some examples of the MAP collection at Newe-Ya'ar and in situ in Israel
No. of accessions
Species In situ Ex situ Seed collection
Coridothymus capitatus 14 21 35
Foeniculum vulgare 17 5 25
Melissa officinalis 19 11 28
Mentha sp. 25 17 9
Micromeria fruticosa 17 17 22
Origanum sp. 18 97 115
Marjoram hortensis - 15 35
Rosmarinus officinalis - 48 10
Salvia officinalis - 78 96
Salvia fruticosa 15 6 32
Satureja thymbra 12 28 37
Thymus vulgaris - 141 75
Achillea fragrantissima 12 8 15
Achillea sp. 14 15 12
Artemisia sp. 34 77 30
Total 197 584 576
National competitive budgets received annually from the MOS and the MOA are applied
to specific species by the IGB. For example national surveys have been conducted, covering
Foeniculum vulgare, Micromeria futicosa, Satureja thymbra and other wild species.
For each species, after herbarium specimens had been studied and documentation
prepared, physical searches were conducted in order to locate the largest wild populations
covering the full range of variation, with primary attention to geographic and climatic
variation (ecotypes). Then, from each of the populations that were selected, all
morphological, phenological and chemical information was collected. Some of the plants
were transferred to Newe-Ya'ar, mainly as cuttings but sometimes by removing the whole
plant. The ex situ plants are compared with the in situ plants that grow in the wild, with
respect to all the information mentioned above. Seeds were collected from the in situ and
from the ex situ plants for at least two successive years.
Thus, from the living collections, as well as from in situ sites, we have obtained and hold
data on morphological characters, flowering behaviour, harvest recovery and essential oil
content and composition. This information is unique and helps us in our selection
programme, in cooperation with other scientists, and as a link to the industry. The reports
that are submitted to the IGB are in the public domain.
MAP production
Israel produces MAPs on a commercial scale, including the various products listed in
Table 2. Each group of products involves a great number of species and varieties. For
example, we grow more than 42 species for fresh herb production (about 100 varieties) and
more than 30 species for ornamental purposes (more than 80 varieties). Some of the varieties
that are used commercially are cultivars but some are unregistered varieties that were
brought, by us, directly from the wild.
Collection from wild populations (from more than 200 acres) includes a great number of
species. The specific species that are collected depend on the origin and the diet of the
collectors.
There is a small industry in Israel that distils or extracts secondary metabolites from
MAPs growing in the country, but most of their raw material is imported.
If we exclude herbs (plants containing essential oils) that are used also for medicinal
purposes, the "true" medicinal plants that are grown commercially are very limited, grown
by a few farmers for local use.