Photo 1:

Photo 2:

Photo 3:

Photo 4:

Photo 5:

Photo 6:

This portfolio highlights the beauty and importance of plant chemistry. Plants may be the food factories on which we all depend, but not all plants enter the food chain willingly and perhaps the most amazing chemicals that plants make are the ones that often wreak havoc with our nervous systems, muscles, and guts to prevent us eating them.

These alkaloids, opiates and glycosides have been used (and abused) throughout human history, and we are still discovering how best to adapt plant inventions to create and inspire the next life-saving medicine. All images were captured under a compound light microscope using crossed-polarised light.