Medicinal Plant Map of the United States of America

A huge and colorful showcase of medicinal plants, including cannabis, coca, and opium!

“It is important that the public does not lose sight of the fact that the professions of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Dentistry, each given an essential service, which must not be impaired or destroyed by commercial trends…It is hoped that this map may serve to broaden the general knowledge of the public along these lines and to develop a better understanding of the vital part the pharmacist plays in combining his services with those of the physician in utilizing the products of nature in the practice of pharmacy.” Text, lower left.

This engaging pictorial map of the United States and was published by the National Wholesale Druggists’ Association in 1932 in celebration of Pharmacy Week. The campaign and map were part of broader efforts by the trade organization in the early 1930s to support and legitimize the profession in the face of increasing adoption of synthetically created medicines.

Detailed illustrations of native medicinal plants occupy each of the contiguous 48 states and portions of Canada and the Atlantic Coast. Captions provide their scientific name, general areas of growth, and various uses. Well-known examples include spearmint (mentha spicata), olives (olea europoea), and sugarcane (saccharum officinarum). The border presents additional specimens found across the globe. Notably, the plants used to make common recreational drugs (cannabis, opium, cocaine) are confined to the outer edges of the sheet.

A second, updated edition was published in 1936. Scarce, with copies noted at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the David Rumsey Map Collection.

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