Sam Spade's San Francisco

Did you know that almost 75 percent of the world population relies solely on botanical remedies as their primary medicine? Here in the U.S., doctors write a whopping 12.5 million prescriptions a year for drugs derived from plants. Plants and other natural products are an important part of our health care and with more than 200,000 plants out there that have yet to be evaluated, the possibilities for cures are enormous.

With the exhibition Nature’s Pharmacy: The Healing Power of Plants, the Conservatory of Flowers takes visitors on a virtual journey to Africa, Asia, South and North America to learn about the many plants that find their way into our medicine cabinets. Giant interactive models of important plants like the Calabar Bean and culturally themed markets from throughout the world’s tropics will create an intriguing and information-rich environment. Visitors will also be able to view living specimens of many of the plants and learn how they are cultivated and processed into medicines.

WHAT: Nature’s Pharmacy: The Healing Power of Plants
(an exhibition about the many plant-based medicines used around the world)

WHEN: Through October 16, 2005 (Closed Mondays)

TIME: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays – Sundays

WHERE: Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

TICKETS: $5 general; $3 youth 12-17, seniors and students with ID; $1.50
children 5-11, children 4 and under FREE

INFORMATION: www.conservatoryofflowers.org,