Ethnobotany is defined as the study of the relationship between people and plants and most commonly refers to the study of indigenous uses of plants. In other words, it is the marriage between cultural anthropology and botany, a study that investigates the roles of plants as medicine, nurishment, natural resources or gateways to the gods. Usually it is considered a relatively young field of study. Officially it has only been recognized as an academic discipline for about a hundred years. However, this view is deceptive. In fact, the investigation of plants and their uses is one of the most primary human concerns, which has been practiced by all cultures for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years - its just that it wasn't called 'Ethnobotany' then. People have always depended on plants for their primary needs, (food, shelter, warmth, medicines, etc.etc.), and thus naturally have learned their uses. In the course of nomadic roaming this knowledge was exchanged with neighboring tribes, friends and foe and was gradually expanded upon. Thus, plant knowledge has been passed around the world since the beginning of time - and frequently the actual plants themselves have spread along with it. Looking at more recent history, there are numerous records of ethnobotanical fieldtrips and acquisitions as well as detailed descriptions of plants and their uses dating to pre-classical times. The Arabs for example, had a vivid interest in plants. On their expeditions to the East they collected much information about local plant uses and brought just as many new plants back as they had taken with them. The same is true for every conquering nation that ventured into foreign and unchartered territory. The Romans, on their crusade through Europe actively sought out local herbalists and often employed their knowledge by enlisting them in service to their troops. Plants were big business in the Old World and many of the most ancient trade routes were in fact established for trade in plant-products, such as Frankincense, exotic spices or silk from the East. The Spanish conquistadores also took detailed records of the plants used by the indigenous people they encountered in the New World. In fact, Columbus' 'discovery' of the Americas was an 'accidental', side effect of searching for a quicker way to India and the profitable allure of Southeast Asia. What he found was not the pepper or nutmeg he had hoped for, yet, the plants he and subsequent expeditions brought back with them have played just as important a role and have since become indispensible items of the western diet. Imagine Italien cooking without tomatoes or an Irish diet without potatoes! Thus Ethnobotany is really one of the oldest fields of human inquiry. Perhaps its because it was so basic to our existence, that it only recently acquired recognition as a science. Scientific study is characterised by a 'subject/object' relationship in which the observer is required to detach him or herself from the observed. This really signifies a move away from involved interaction with plants. Perhaps because they have become less significant, i.e. less present in our consciousness in this technological age, they have been pushed out of the sphere of direct experience (personal relationship) and into the realm of external phenomena, where they can be studied objectively and rationally, labeled and given scientific names, dissected and analyzed in search of 'active compounds' which might subsequently be exploited as new wonderdrugs.