This document provides an introduction to pharmacognosy. It defines pharmacognosy as the systematic study of crude drugs from natural sources like plants, animals, and minerals. The document discusses the history and development of pharmacognosy from the 18th century to modern times. It also outlines the scope of pharmacognosy, including its role in new drug discovery, traditional medicine, and integrating natural products with modern medicine systems. Finally, it provides an overview of the key areas of modern pharmacognosy, such as ethnopharmacology, phytotherapy, phytochemistry, and marine pharmacognosy.