The agricultural sector of medicinal (including plant stimulants) and aromatic plants is characterized by an enormous number and diversity of species. Only a few of them can be considered cultivated crops in which significant breeding efforts are made. For most species, however, breeding is performed in short-term projects only. Therefore, basic knowledge about these species is still fragmentary. Our intention is to compile and organize the available information on the most commonly utilized plant species into one publication, thereby providing a standardized resource for the researchers and the grower community. This book therefore provides reference source materials for a wide variety of plant species used for human consumption due to their flavor, medicinal or recreational properties. It is divided into a section of general topics on genetic resources, breeding adaptation of analytic methods and a compilation of basic data for DNA content, chromosome number and mating system followed by a section of 20 monographs on a species or species groups.

Prof.Dr. Johannes Novak is a researcher at the Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna (Austria). Since 2012, he leads the working group 'Functional Plant Compounds' dedicated to medicinal, aromatic and poisonous plants. Applying phytochemical and molecular methods, he analyzes quality, identity and variability of these plants to improve plant materials or to solve other problems of raw materials sourcing (e.g. identity and geographic origin, genetic constitution and relationships of populations) in close cooperation with industrial partners. He is co-founder and co-editor of the 'Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants' and secretary general of the European Herb Growers Association.

Prof.Dr. Wolf-Dieter Blüthner was working first on cytogenetics of wheat and wheat interspecific hybrids at the Institute for Plant Breeding and Seed Production of the University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany) before he moved as plant breeder and researcher first to N.L. Chrestensen GmbH and later to the Dr. Junghanns GmbH (both Germany). At N.L. Chrestensen, he was responsible for breeding and propagating medicinal, aromatic plants, vegetables and ornamentals, at Dr. Junghanns GmbH for breeding medicinal and aromatic plants.