The article introduces a special theme of the issue on “Plants in the Culture of Peoples of Eurasia: From Magic to Resource”. We take a retrospective look at the polyfunctionality of plants in the history of human culture and trace their polysemanticism, symbolism, and variety of applications (in food, medical, sacred-magical, and legal matters) from antiquity to the present day in various regions and among various peoples. We discuss the state of the art in research in these areas and review the principal directions of scholarly studies, such as ethnobotany or phytoanthropology, in Russian and other academic traditions. The thematic section features contributions by V.B. Kolosova, K.A. Jernigan and O.S. Belichenko, A.A. Novik and M.V. Domosiletskaya, O.D. Fais-Leutskaia, and V.N. Davydov.