A Live Pharmacy is a forest garden in which medicinal plants are preserved in a cultivated or semi-cultivated form in their natural environment. The concept was initiated by Professor Matos in Brazil and has since been developed in other parts of the world. Live Pharmacies differ from botanical gardens in that the plants are organized according to local perceptions of how they grow and interact rather than in systematic beds. Live Pharmacies are a potentially valuable resource for Amazonian communities at a time when deforestation has depleted many areas along rivers and roads, making access to medicinal plants more difficult.