Richard Evans Schultes, PhD A Paul Reilly Joint. (Sorry Spike)

“I would consider being a bank teller behind a glass cage all day long would be far more difficult day after day after day, than to be free in the jungle of the Amazon. Everyday something new happened.” -Richard Evans Schultes

The Father of Modern Ethnobotany. −What is Ethnobotany? Who cares? What else did he do? −Anthropologist − Jungle Botanist −Explorer −Conservationist −Changed the Western World −Mentor and Teacher Who is Richard Evans Schultes?

Early Life Born in Boston in 1915 −Parent’s working class German Immigrants As a child worked on his Uncle’s Farm −Loved plants, pressed specimens and learned common names Around 6 years old he got sick −Spent months bedridden −Parents read to him from Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and the Andes, by Richard Spruce, an English naturalist

Richard Spruce ( ) Great Victorian Botanist Explored the Amazon for 15 years Successfully cultivated quinine

Early Education East Boston High School: Great student −Earns Scholarship to Harvard Harvard: Starts towards a Medical Career −Takes a class by Oakes Ames called “ A Practical Introduction to Useful and Harmful Plants” −Ames sees promise, deliberately engages Schultes −Schultes’ botanical love is rekindled, changes major

Oakes Ames ( ) Orchidologist: −Little know about Orchidaceae prior to his research −Professor and Curator, held numerous offices during his career at Harvard

Undergrad at Harvard Honors Dissertation: Peyote −Joins Weston LaBerre, a graduate student −Spends time with the Kiowa and other tribes −Attended 5 all night peyote ceremonies The important question: Did he partake? −Schultes states, “It would have been unpardonable rudeness to refuse” −Becomes first outsider to become fully aware of the cultural significance of peyote use.

Peyote and the Kiowa

Post Graduate Stays at Harvard under Ames −Adopts his unique ideologies Did he really believe these views? −In practice a Libertarian, especially when considering sexual orientation, drug use, abortion and freedom of religion

Travels to fight marijuana charges −Why? “Travesty of justice” −How did he do that? Schultes’ Reputation Grows at Harvard

Schultes’ PhD Dissertation ‘Lost’ Hallucinogens of the Aztecs −Teonanactl and Ololiuqui Why did he choose this? −William Safford in 1916 states Teonanactl is peyote −Schultes calls B.S., no cactus in the high wet forests Goes to Oaxaca, Mexico −Spends time with Indigenous Tribes −Teonanacatl = Petticoat mottlegill (Panaelous sphinctrinus) −Ololiuqui = Morning Glory (Turbina corymbosa)

Schultes makes friends. Albert Hoffman −Swiss Scientist, famous for LSD −Met on conference in Berlin, coauthored books −The important question, did Schultes partake in LSD? Robert Gordon Wasson −Ethnomycologist −Wanted to study Psychedelic mushrooms of the Aztecs −Became friends, got honorary appointment to Harvard

Schultes makes friends.

What did this trio do? Ushered in the Psychedelic Era: −Widespread LSD and Mushroom Use How did Schultes feel about this? −Disdain for those who represented the Drug Culture −Never “fit the bill” Why? −Schultes was interested in Medicinal uses −Did not believe westerners could achieve religion through chemical means −Did he regret his role?

Post Doctoral Took a 9 month assignment from the NAS −Curare, what is it? Why is it important? −Goes to the Amazon Valley Establishes his ‘status quo’ for exploration −few supplies and a local guide During his stay U.S. involvement in WWII occurs −Goes to the U.S. Embassy to be enlisted −Unexpected answer

Post Doctoral (Extended Version) Rubber Trees −Japanese occupying Malaysia −Alternative source needed After the conflict ends? −Schultes begins focusing on other endeavors −80,000 plants, how to accomplish surveys? Answers his own question −Indigenous knowledge −Why was this important?

Using Indigenous Knowledge Perhaps Schultes greatest gift to Ethnobotany −Realized native “botanists” have been sampling and experimenting for thousands of years −Use their knowledge as a basis for his investigations Did it work? −In short form yes, still utilized today How much did he collect in the Amazon? −24,000 species, 300 new to science, 60 with his name That’s a lot of specimens! −How long did he stay in the jungle?

After the Jungle Returns to Harvard in 1953 −Sorts through collections −Publishes extensively −Teaches Course in Economic Botany How was he as a professor? −Not charismatic, but entertaining, dry humor −Instills idea of fragility of forests and respect for Indigenous cultures. −Blowgun skills frequently shown

After the Jungle Continued Becomes director of Harvard’s Biological Museum Lab becomes central research center for Ethnobotany −Attracts a number of students −Mark Plotkin (Rainforest Ecosystems) −Timothy Plowman (coca) −Wade Davis (zombies, yes zombies)

After the Jungle (still more) Focuses on Conservation Efforts −Pioneers method of conservation getting pharmaceutical companies to pay for exploration rights −Popularizes idea that we are losing valuable medicinal compounds with forest destruction Marries Dorothy Crawford McNeil −Has 3 children, all successful

After the Jungle (even more) Editor for the Society of Economic Botany: −17 years Curator of the Orchid Herbarium of Oakes Ames: −5 years Executive Director of the Harvard Botanical Museum: −18 years

Awards and Distinctions His most meaningful award? −2.2 million acre tract of land in the Columbian rainforest named the Schultes Sector and placed in trust Other Awards: Too numerous to list −Linnean Society of London Gold Medal −World Wildlife Fund (Gold Medal) −Order of the Cross of Boyaca −Society for Economic Botany annual award −Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement

Publications Peer Reviewed Journal Articles: −Authored over 450 publications Authored 10 books, notably: −Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers −Hallucinogenic Plants (A Golden Guide) −Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline −Where the Gods Reign: Plants and People of the Amazon −Vine of the Soul: Medicine Men −(Never wrote and autobiography, Wade Davis did though)

After the Jungle (the last slide) Dies in 2001 −Oblivious to his own accomplishments −Calls himself, “Just a jungle botanist” −His contributions to economic botany, conservation and ethnobotany make him legendary, and will not be forgotten.

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