NatureBank, A Treasure Trove of Queensland’s Unique Biodiversity

HMAQ had a visit to NatureBank planned for 2020 but alas COVID shutdowns put a stop to this. I had not heard of NatureBank previously, so I got in touch and have since had the opportunity to visit a couple of times. I find the work they do fascinating. As a plant lover, I am fascinated by plants as medicine. The journey from plant to modern medicine is one that is largely unseen, so it is easy to forget how much of our modern medicine comes from plants. Approximately 40% of our modern medicine is derived from natural sources. Most of this is plant based but it does include microbes and marine invertebrates as well. While these medicines may end up being mass produced by chemical synthesis, without the plant in the first step, they would not have been developed at all.