ABSTRACT
The woody perennial climber Pueraria mirifica (Figure 6.1) was first described by Kashemsanta et al. (1952) following the detailed re-examination of a Thai medicinal plant initially thought to be identical with Butea superba, another climbing legume widely found across south-east Asia. Interest in the plant was especially strong in Thailand, notably around the northern hill town of Chiengmai, where it was known locally as kwao keur (or sometimes kwao khua, kwao kua or hua kwao) and where, for many years, its globular or pear-shaped tuberous roots1 had been collected in large quantities by local tribesmen for processing, either in Chiengmai or Bangkok, into various traditional Thai medicines (Figures 6.2 and 6.3).
