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History and Heritage
History
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Richard Spruce (1817 – 1893)
He was a Yorkshire botanist. Whilst collecting specimens in Ecuador for the Herbarium at Kew, he successfully enabled the cultivation of bitter bark quinine. This is taken from the bark of the South American tree. Unfortunately due to its curative qualities, demand at this time was outstripping supply and stocks of the tree were beginning to dwindle. Spruce was able to simultaneously send samples back to Kew for propagation and also to sow seedlings which were successfully grown into plantations. This meant that in the future, a dose of quinine would become widely available, thus highlighting an early example of identifying and proactively preserving a means of medicine for the protection of man against malarial disease.
(Further information about Richard Spruce can be found in Richard Spruce: (1817-1893): Botanist and Explorer, published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.)