Papers by Jason T W Irving
Medical Anthropology, 2025
Health sovereignty-the assertion of rights to culturally and ecologically appropriate medicines a... more Health sovereignty-the assertion of rights to culturally and ecologically appropriate medicines and the ability of communities to structure their own healthcare-is a biopolitical goal of the Rastafari movement. We examine how health sovereignty is enacted by Rastafari herbalists in south London and the contributions these healers make to health in the UK, particularly for migrants disenfranchised by "hostile environment" immigration policies. Using ethnographic data on "bitters" and "roots tonics" we show how herbal medicines are used by healers and their clientele to achieve key political and spiritual aims of the movement, as well as personal healing.
Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 2017
Objectives: To review which names are used to refer to Hypericum perforatum L. in health regulati... more Objectives: To review which names are used to refer to Hypericum perforatum L. in health regulation and medicinal plant references, and the potential for ambiguity or imprecision. Key findings: Structured searches of Kew's Medicinal Plant Names Services Resource, supplemented with other online bibliographic resources, found that the scientific name Hypericum perforatum L. is used consistently in the literature, but variation between subspecies is rarely considered by researchers. Research is still published using only the common name 'St John's wort' despite it being imprecise; at least 80 other common names are also used for this plant in multiple languages. Summary: Ambiguous and alternative plant names can lead to ineffective regulation, misinterpretation of literature, substitution of raw material or the failure to locate all published research. Kew's Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) maps all names used for each plant in medicinal plant references onto current taxonomy, thereby providing for disambiguation and comprehensive access to the regulations and references that cite that plant, regardless of the name used. MPNS also supplies the controlled vocabulary for plant names now required for compliance with a new standard (Identification of Medicinal Products, IDMP) adopted by medicines regulators worldwide.
When publishing their research on natural products and
traditional preparations from plants, auth... more When publishing their research on natural products and
traditional preparations from plants, authors need to use
scientific plant names appropriately and unambiguously – both
to ensure the scientific integrity of their research and to facilitate
citation and recognition of their work. Whilst many papers follow
best practice, including some in this issue (p. 623, p. 631), many
others would have benefitted from improvements in their
research procedures or the presentation of their results. Earlier
authors have quantified the problems with plant names used in
medicinal plant and nutritional science publications [1,2]. Here
we highlight the most common mistakes that are made, giving a
few examples, and offer advice on how best to approach the use of
scientific plant names, in order that these mistakes can be
avoided in future.
Plant names are the key to communicating and managing information
about plants. This paper consid... more Plant names are the key to communicating and managing information
about plants. This paper considers how providers of high quality technical plant name information can better meet the requirements non-botanical audiences who also rely on plant names for elements of their work.
The International Plant Name Index, World Checklist of Selected Plant
Families and The Plant List are used as examples to illustrate the strengths
and weaknesses of plant name resources from a non-expert user’s
perspective. The above resources can be thought of as botanists pushing data at audiences. Without closer engagement with users, however, there is a limit to their relevance and impact. The need to cover common names is a frequent criticism of existing resources. The Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS, www.kew.org/mpns) is an example of how plant name resources can be adapted to better address the needs of a non-botanical audience. Some of the major challenges are outlined and solutions suggested.
Key words: Bouchout Declaration, medicinal plant names services,
nomenclature, taxonomy, user engagement
Whether communicating with a fellow practitioner, looking up research on a plant, or checking off... more Whether communicating with a fellow practitioner, looking up research on a plant, or checking official legislation, plant names are essential to practising herbal medicine. However, names used to refer to Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) are complicated by the fact that one name can refer to several species, and these names can mean different things to different people. This creates potential for inaccuracies and miscommunication.
This article begins by giving an overview of the different names used in traditional Chinese medicine; whilst these names are useful for defining a drug entity, it is often not clear what species of plant they refer to and that they are defined differently in different publications. It then explores the benefits of using scientific names whilst also exploring the difficulties their use can present.
It goes on to cover the work Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS), a project based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been doing to highlight and help resolve these issues. MPNS has created a global resource that indexes the many different names in use and links them to up to date scientific classification. This resource is publicly available and its aim is to improve communication about medicinal plants. MPNS also advises on best practice in the use of plant names and works with global health regulators to ensure accuracy.
Talks by Jason T W Irving
Books by Jason T W Irving
The beautifully illustrated Gardener’s Companion to Medicinal Plants is an A-Z of healing plants ... more The beautifully illustrated Gardener’s Companion to Medicinal Plants is an A-Z of healing plants and home remedies, featuring more than 270 plants used for their medicinal properties, as well as 24 practical projects for homemade teas, oils, tinctures and creams with a tradition of safe use. Each plant is illustrated with a beautiful work of botanical art from Kew's archives. Many of our most important drugs are derived from plants and many more are yet to be discovered: much research in this area is overseen by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where the book’s three authors are employed. This contemporary Herbal offers a fresh take on the 5,000-year-old tradition of recording plants with medicinal value and with life-changing benefits.
Available from the Kew Gardens Bookshop: http://shop.kew.org/the-gardener-s-companion-to-medicinal-plants
Conference Presentations by Jason T W Irving
A summary of Information Document CoP17 Inf. 26, submitted in relation to agenda item 81.1 on Sta... more A summary of Information Document CoP17 Inf. 26, submitted in relation to agenda item 81.1 on Standard nomenclature: Report of the Animals and Plants Committees. It outlines how the work of Kew's Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) can assist CITES parties in their work to regulate the trade in threatened medicinal plants.
A New Online Resource for CITES Medicinal Plant Listings – Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services (graphic summary of Information Document CoP17 Inf. 26).
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Papers by Jason T W Irving
traditional preparations from plants, authors need to use
scientific plant names appropriately and unambiguously – both
to ensure the scientific integrity of their research and to facilitate
citation and recognition of their work. Whilst many papers follow
best practice, including some in this issue (p. 623, p. 631), many
others would have benefitted from improvements in their
research procedures or the presentation of their results. Earlier
authors have quantified the problems with plant names used in
medicinal plant and nutritional science publications [1,2]. Here
we highlight the most common mistakes that are made, giving a
few examples, and offer advice on how best to approach the use of
scientific plant names, in order that these mistakes can be
avoided in future.
about plants. This paper considers how providers of high quality technical plant name information can better meet the requirements non-botanical audiences who also rely on plant names for elements of their work.
The International Plant Name Index, World Checklist of Selected Plant
Families and The Plant List are used as examples to illustrate the strengths
and weaknesses of plant name resources from a non-expert user’s
perspective. The above resources can be thought of as botanists pushing data at audiences. Without closer engagement with users, however, there is a limit to their relevance and impact. The need to cover common names is a frequent criticism of existing resources. The Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS, www.kew.org/mpns) is an example of how plant name resources can be adapted to better address the needs of a non-botanical audience. Some of the major challenges are outlined and solutions suggested.
Key words: Bouchout Declaration, medicinal plant names services,
nomenclature, taxonomy, user engagement
This article begins by giving an overview of the different names used in traditional Chinese medicine; whilst these names are useful for defining a drug entity, it is often not clear what species of plant they refer to and that they are defined differently in different publications. It then explores the benefits of using scientific names whilst also exploring the difficulties their use can present.
It goes on to cover the work Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS), a project based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been doing to highlight and help resolve these issues. MPNS has created a global resource that indexes the many different names in use and links them to up to date scientific classification. This resource is publicly available and its aim is to improve communication about medicinal plants. MPNS also advises on best practice in the use of plant names and works with global health regulators to ensure accuracy.
Talks by Jason T W Irving
An afternoon symposium speakers convened by Uriel Orlow and Shela Sheikh with invited speakers Sita Balani, Jason Irving and Philippe Zourgane. The symposium will respond to themes in Orlow's exhibition Mafavuke’s Trial and Other Plant Stories, and explore aspects of knowledge production and suppression both historically and in the present moment though the lens of the botanical and the postcolonial.
Recording available: http://www.theshowroom.org/library/symposium-theatrum-botanicum-and-other-forms-of-knowledge
Books by Jason T W Irving
Available from the Kew Gardens Bookshop: http://shop.kew.org/the-gardener-s-companion-to-medicinal-plants
Conference Presentations by Jason T W Irving
A New Online Resource for CITES Medicinal Plant Listings – Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services (graphic summary of Information Document CoP17 Inf. 26).
traditional preparations from plants, authors need to use
scientific plant names appropriately and unambiguously – both
to ensure the scientific integrity of their research and to facilitate
citation and recognition of their work. Whilst many papers follow
best practice, including some in this issue (p. 623, p. 631), many
others would have benefitted from improvements in their
research procedures or the presentation of their results. Earlier
authors have quantified the problems with plant names used in
medicinal plant and nutritional science publications [1,2]. Here
we highlight the most common mistakes that are made, giving a
few examples, and offer advice on how best to approach the use of
scientific plant names, in order that these mistakes can be
avoided in future.
about plants. This paper considers how providers of high quality technical plant name information can better meet the requirements non-botanical audiences who also rely on plant names for elements of their work.
The International Plant Name Index, World Checklist of Selected Plant
Families and The Plant List are used as examples to illustrate the strengths
and weaknesses of plant name resources from a non-expert user’s
perspective. The above resources can be thought of as botanists pushing data at audiences. Without closer engagement with users, however, there is a limit to their relevance and impact. The need to cover common names is a frequent criticism of existing resources. The Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS, www.kew.org/mpns) is an example of how plant name resources can be adapted to better address the needs of a non-botanical audience. Some of the major challenges are outlined and solutions suggested.
Key words: Bouchout Declaration, medicinal plant names services,
nomenclature, taxonomy, user engagement
This article begins by giving an overview of the different names used in traditional Chinese medicine; whilst these names are useful for defining a drug entity, it is often not clear what species of plant they refer to and that they are defined differently in different publications. It then explores the benefits of using scientific names whilst also exploring the difficulties their use can present.
It goes on to cover the work Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS), a project based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been doing to highlight and help resolve these issues. MPNS has created a global resource that indexes the many different names in use and links them to up to date scientific classification. This resource is publicly available and its aim is to improve communication about medicinal plants. MPNS also advises on best practice in the use of plant names and works with global health regulators to ensure accuracy.
An afternoon symposium speakers convened by Uriel Orlow and Shela Sheikh with invited speakers Sita Balani, Jason Irving and Philippe Zourgane. The symposium will respond to themes in Orlow's exhibition Mafavuke’s Trial and Other Plant Stories, and explore aspects of knowledge production and suppression both historically and in the present moment though the lens of the botanical and the postcolonial.
Recording available: http://www.theshowroom.org/library/symposium-theatrum-botanicum-and-other-forms-of-knowledge
Available from the Kew Gardens Bookshop: http://shop.kew.org/the-gardener-s-companion-to-medicinal-plants
A New Online Resource for CITES Medicinal Plant Listings – Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services (graphic summary of Information Document CoP17 Inf. 26).