The use of medicinal plants dates to prehistoric times when ancient man found that ingestion or application of certain herbs and barks was effective in treating some of the ailments that plagued him. Herbal medicine is a part of virtually all cultures, and Tonga is no exception. However, several early visitors in the first decades of the 'European Era' in Tongan history noted the relatively minor use of herbal plants, especially in comparison with the adjacent Fiji Islands. Whether or not this evaluation is true may never be learned, but today in tonga, herbal remedies are used at one time or another by a large percentage of the population,