1) Taxus brevifolia (Pacific or Western Yew)

• Native from southern Alaska to central California
• Chemotherapy drug Taxol was derived from the bark
• All parts of the plant are toxic except the fleshy red aril surrounding the little green cones

2) Salix (Willows)

• Aspirin is derived from Salicylic acid (component of Willow-bark extract)
• Medicinal use dates back to at least the 5^th century BC when the Greek physician Hippocrates prescribed it to ease pain and reduce fevers.
• Lewis and Clark used willow bark tea as a remedy for crew fevers

3) Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel)       

• Leaves and bark contain hamamelitannin believed to be responsible for astringent properties, hemostatic properties, and antioxidant activity
• North American Indians distilled bark, leaves and twigs to make eyewash, treatment for hemorrhoids, internal hemorrhages, and gum inflammation.

4) Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair tree)

• Considered a living fossil, Ginkgo  is native to China
• Chinese people appreciate the dry-roasted nuts as a treatment for lung qi deficiency

5) Thuja occidentalis (Eastern arborvitae)

• One of the four plants of the Ojibwe medicine wheel
•  Rich in vitamin C, thought to have cured many bouts of scurvy in mariners

Source: Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany; Van Wyk and Wink, Medicinal Plants of the World; Schafer, The Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm