From where can I obtain a photograph/image of the plant Scaevola,
known also as Maroon Bush, Cancer Bush and Curent Bush.
There is full information available on Google web site, but no
photograph/image.
Are you able to help?

Hello kaid:

Thanks for the interesting question. 

First of all, I made sure that I had the exact right plant name. What
you are looking for is the native Australian plant "Scaevola
spinescens", also known as:

* Prickly fanflower
* Maroon bush
* Currant bush

I found information on this plant at:

Maroon Bush (Scaevola spinescens), an Aboriginal Medicinal Plant of
Promise?
URL: http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/health/biomed/MHR/maroon.htm
Quote: "This paper describes recent work to investigate the chemical
constituents and bioactivity characteristics of Maroon Bush, Scaevola
spinescens R.Br. (Goodeniaceae), which has been used in traditional
Aboriginal medicine as a bush tonic and as an occasional treatment for
cancer. The story of Maroon Bush, or Currant Bush, as it is sometimes
called, is an absorbing study in prejudice, blundering and
closed-mindedness, and especially reflects orthodox scientific opinion
of the time."

Scaevola spinescens – Prickly fanflower
URL: http://www.nhaa.org.au/forum/text/forum6.html
Quote: "Scaevola spinescens is a common shrub of inland Australia,
distinguished by its dwarf spinescent branchlets and yellowish-white
one-sided flowers borne on short slender stalks in the leaf axils.

The fanflower is a traditional Aboriginal medicine, root decoctions
having been used for stomach ache and urinary problems, while
decoction of broken stems are purported to cure skin rashes, boils and
sores. It has attracted attention in recent years as a potential
cancer remedy, and for many years the Western Australian government
made an extract of the plant available to terminally ill cancer
patients."

Having the full name and a description of the plant lead me to the
following two pictures.

Picture: http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL11/se98-1ds.jpg
From: Australian Plants in their own Garden
URL: http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL11/sep98-1.html

Picture: http://www.australian-aridlands-botanic-garden.org/images/sca_spi.jpg
From: Plants at the AALBG
URL: http://www.australian-aridlands-botanic-garden.org/general/plants/plant00.htm


I hope this information helps with your research. 
                       
If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,
please ask using the clarification feature and provide me with
additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please
allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this
answer.
                       
Thank you.                        
                       
websearcher-ga                        
                                         

Search Strategy 

(on Google):                        
Scaevola maroon
Scaevola spinescens

(on Google Image Search)
Scaevola spinescens
http://images.google.ca/images?q=Scaevola+spinescens&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kaid-ga on 29 May 2003 05:50 PDT

websearcher-ga, ID 209347,

My friend who survived cancer uses the leaves of this bush, in a
'tea'.
Perhaps the source/s you accessed also provide images of the leaves; 
the department in the Western Australian government that made an
extract of the plant for example.

Thank you for your help, it puts into formal descriptions information
that we have learned from experience.

I await your further reply,

Thank you again, Regards, Kaid-ga.

---

Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 29 May 2003 09:22 PDT

Hi kaid:

Thanks for the clarification request. 

I was able to find the following picture of the Scaevola spinescens
plant that include the plant's leaves:

Plant Guide for the Olive Downs Walking Trail
URL: http://www.bios.unsw.edu.au/rootourism/Olive%20Downs%20plant%20guide.pdf
Page: 4
Notes: A grainy b&w picture, but shows some leaf clusters. There is a
description of the leaves in the paragraph above the picture.

That is all I was able to find online. If you need more pictures, I
would recommend trying your local library (assuming you are in
Australia). They are likely to have many books on indigenous
plantlife.

I hope this helps.

websearcher-ga

Thank you for your promptness.
This was my first www experience, and you made it 'user friendly'.
Sorry I was so clumsey with my replies etc.
Thanks again, Kaid.