Matthew Wood discusses how the five "tissue states" of 19th century botanical literature relate to the "elements" of traditional herbalism. A universal feature of traditional medicine is the use of "elements'' or ''humors" to describe basic patterns in an organism. This approach is generally known as "humoral" or "energetic medicine." These basic elements or patterns usually represent simple conditions such as hot, cold, solid, tense, dry, etc. In Ayurveda there are three doshas: pitta (fire), vata (air) and kapha (water). Greek medicine has the four elements (fire, air, water and earth). The American Indians have the four directions of the medicine wheel. In traditional Chinese medicine there are five elements (fire, earth, metal, water and wood). These are analogous to the four elements of the West (metal is equal to air) with the addition of a fifth element (wind or wood). For more details on this presentation go to the following URL: http://www.frontiercoop.com/Frontier/HerbFest/2000Seminar/2000Forgotten.html