WELCOMING ADDRESS

I heartily welcome you here at the first symposium of the working group 'Spices and Medicinal Plants' of the I.S.H.S. The fact that - despite of the very short-termed organization - approximately 90 persons from 20 different countries have come to participate in this symposium may be regarded as a sign for the increasing worldwide interest in medicinal plants: Nature is still a rich source of drugs.

I have the great pleasure of welcoming all of you here at Weihenstephan. I want to mention a few names only, at their head MR Seyrer as the delegate of the Bavarian Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry together with Dr. Steib, the head of his horticultural department. We are very much obliged to his ministry, as it - together with the 'Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft' and the German Academic Exchange Service - gave financial support to this meeting. Just so I am welcoming Prof. Dr. Grigull, the president of the Technical University of München and Prof. Dr. Groth, the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences. I am glad to see Dr. Kraus, the president of the Bavarian Institute of Soil Science and Plant Production, who also represents the German Working Group of Medicinal and Spice Plants. On his behalf and on the behalf of this German working group I give you kindest regards and wishes for a successful development of this symposium. Dr. Walker, the president of the I.S.H.S. has done us the honour of being with us here. I have to give you kind regards of the German Society for Horticultural Science, too, and best wishes for a successful meeting.

A higher number of papers than expected was announced. Therefore we were forced not only to schedule quite a concentrated program but also to prepare a poster session. We nevertheless hope that you will find some hours during the coming days to go to München for a visit to the Viktualienmarkt and have a look on the spices offered there: You will be surprised on the great variety and abundant supply.

The demand for medicinal plants and spices is increasing. a great number of such plants are still being collected from natural locations. There are several reasons why it becomes more and more necessary to cultivate medicinal and spice plants systematically: Firstly should such plants be protected from extirpation: there is secondly a shortness of persons ready to collect such wild-grown plants; thirdly we should always have a continuous supply