1. Ethnobotany Spring Term 2015 By Giuseppe Arcimboldo

2. Course Information http://courses.knox.edu/bio320

3. Books on Reserve

4. And another book on reserve

5. What is Ethnobotany? Ethnobotany is the study of plants used by primitive and aboriginal people. – John W. Harshberger 1895

6. What is Ethnobotany? A better definition is: Ethnobotany is the study of the interactions of plants and people, including the influence of plants on human culture. Oaxaca, Mexico

7. Two Aims of Ethnobotany Are: 1) To document facts about plant use and plant management 2) To elucidate the ethnobotanical text by defining, describing and investigating ethnobotanical roles and processes - Janis Alcorn, 1995

8. Indigenous from the Latin – Indigena – native or long-adapted to an area Traditional People Pakistan

9. How many years in residence does it take to become indigenous? Navajo – 16 th CenturyOjibwa – about 1600Maasai – late 17 th Century

10. Folk Botany

11. Why study use of plants by indigenous people? 1. The relationships between plants and people are often clearer in indigenous societies than in westernized societies Collecting data in Polynesia

12. How is a pencil made?

13. Or a roll of toilet paper?

14. Or a t-shirt?

15. Or even corn starch?

16. Why study use of plants by indigenous people? 2. Indigenous cultures may represent living analogues of the prehistorical stages of western civilization Greek bas relief

17. Why study use of plants by indigenous people? 3. Indigenous cultures retain much knowledge concerning plants that western peoples have largely lost Ethnobotany class sampling teas

18. Why study use of plants by indigenous people? 4. Indigenous peoples are stewards of some of the most sensitive ecosystems on earth Amazonian Shaman

19. Why study use of plants by indigenous people? 5. Indigenous people are very vulnerable to rapid cultural and economic change - understanding traditional ways, including use of plants, can point to strategies to minimize negative consequences of that change Native Australian Painting

20. Ethnobotanical study of traditional cooking methods in Texas From ethnobotanist Phil Deering

21. What is this plant good for? Echinacea pallida – Pale Purple Coneflower

22. Perhaps medicine

23. Considering what a plant is good for leads to other questions Where does the plant normally occur? How is the plant cultivated? Can we combine natural occurrence and cultivation in a mutually beneficial system?

24. Why are plants so vital? Because Plants are Producers. Van Helmont

25. Plant Chemistry