The Hadassah Medicinal Herb Project
Overview
Cultivation and domestication of medicinal herbs is being done in the experimental orchard in cooperation with Dr. Sarah Salon of the Natural Medicine Research Unit of Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem. The plantings and experiments are part of four programs for the advancement of knowledge in the fields of natural medicine, conservation of wild plants and domestication of medicinal species. Three of the programs are currently taking place.
Middle Eastern Medicinal Plants (MEMP), is a program to cultivate and investigate the medicinal plants of Israel and the Mediterranean. Some of the plants being raised and investigated are mugwort, wormwood, abraham plants, stinkworts, fleabanes, desert marigolds and mallows.
The Medicinal Species of the Dead Sea Area (MSDS), is a small new and exciting experiment in the domestication and cultivation of the rare medicinal plants that are indigenous to the area around the Dead Sea. This will be accomplished by collecting seeds from the wild and then establishing seedbanks and cultivated populations of the plant which will provide material for further research while leaving wild population intact. Among the rare medicinal plants in this project are Jericho garlic, white wormwood, scorpion's tale, Sinai capers, Negev wall plants and Dead Sea daisies.
Medicinal Teas is a new project centered around the production of four medicinal teas from selected desert species. This project began in February 2006.