<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">It's also very important to recognize that <I>Magnolia officinalis</I> Rehd. & Wils. is gone from the wild in China due to the demand for its bark, Hou Po, in traditional medicine. Classified as an aromatic herb that transforms dampness, Hou Po is used in many formulas for various purposes. The tree is slow-growing and cultivated on plantations in China.</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">From a conservationist's point of view, this news is bittersweet. We want recognition of the value of medicinal plants, but only if that value can be realized in full context. In this case, the context includes both the genetic diversity of the source species AND the knowledge that Hou Po is "good for" a lot more than full-spectrum antibiotic activity. Let's try to avoid the possibility for more bark-stripping of wild trees.</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>Jean Giblette, Director</DIV><DIV>HIGH FALLS GARDENS</DIV><DIV>Box 125 Philmont NY 12565</DIV><DIV>518-672-7365, <A href="mailto:hfg@capital.net">hfg@capital.net</A></DIV><DIV>www.highfallsgardens.net</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>