Plant prospecting is the seeking out of plants for the development of new foods, prescription drugs, herbal dietary supplements, flavors and fragrances, cosmetics, industrial materials, pesticides, and other profitable products. Plant prospecting includes the selection and collection of plants from terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems by expeditions to diverse areas of the world, such as tropical and temperate rain forests as well as arid and semiarid lands in Latin America, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

Field studies involve collecting plant samples in the wild for identification and labeling the samples for voucher, or reference, specimens. The specimens are deposited in herbaria, which are collections of preserved plants. If searching for plants for drug discovery programs, one kilogram of each plant species is typically gathered for further work in the laboratory. A plant extract is produced for screening for biological activity, followed by chemical isolation and identification...