Ethnobotany Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Apart from utilizing plant resources as food, shelter, clothing and many other material needs, man must have used plants to cure disease conditions – initially instinctively as other animals do & later in a deliberate and a systematic way. With the growth of experience from repeated experiments, therapeutics with herbs attained standardization and grew in a cumulative way, generation to generations. For the present study Thane, a small district in Maharashtra is taken up. Thane district comprises of 13 talukas and the tribal area of the district is about 9,558 sq. km. The inhabitants, mainly the tribals rely on rich plant wealth for their food; medicine etc. The present study has been carried out to compile the information about the herbal preparations recommended against the gynecological disorders, used by the tribal women. Also during the study, samples were collected and were subjected to phytochemical screening to find out possible active secondary metabolite.

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- Ethnobotany

Culturally modified trees, or CMTs, are a phenomenon of forest-dwelling peoples worldwide, from North America to Scandinavia, to Turkey, to Australia. Living trees from which materials are harvested (edible inner bark, pitch and resin, bark, branches), or which are modified through coppicing and pollarding to produce wood of a certain size and quality, or which are marked in some way for purposes of art, ceremony, or to indicate boundary lines or trails, all represent the potential of sustainable use and management of trees and forested regions. Often their use is associated with particular belief systems or approaches to other life forms that result in conservation of standing trees and forests, and preserving or enhancing their habitat value and productivity, even while they serve as resources for people.

This report describes the results of plant surveys with Native American elders along designated District 7 highways. The surveys were intended to elicit information concerning culturally significant plant gathering sites and other sites with contemporary cultural significance to Native Americans who are indigenous to the Caltrans D7 Los Angeles County project area. The project roads consist of approximately 400 miles of county roadway. Along the corridors on both sides of the highways, the roads were surveyed for culturally significant plants and other Native American traditional cultural properties visible above ground, extending approximately fifty feet from the highway right-of-way. The survey team identified a total of 106 species of culturally significant plants growing along the project roadways. The culturally significant plants have been recorded and mapped as “Gathering Places” (GP) with information describing the highway and gathering site.

- by Jana Fortier
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- Native American Studies, Archaeology, Indigenous Studies, Ethnobotany
- by Füsun Z . ERTUG
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- Ethnoarchaeology, Ethnobotany, Sustainable agriculture

Wild edible plants, and particularly weeds, continue to be an important dietary component of many people around the world. We study the availability and yield of 15 weedy vegetables traditionally consumed in the Mediterranean region to assess their potential sustainable exploitation. Fieldwork was conducted in Central Spain during 2007-2009. Yields ranged between 10-460 g per plant in non-clonal species and between 400-5,000 g m 22 in clonal species. According to local plant density estimates, a total of 1800 kg ha 21 for Foeniculum vulgare, 700-1000 kg ha 21 for Beta maritima, Rumex pulcher, Papaver rhoeas and Silybum marianum, and 80-400 kg ha 21 for the remaining species could be obtained, except for Scolymus hispanicus that only yielded 30 kg ha 21. Exploitation of those species should consider local yields and preferences to achieve sustainability. We propose: 1) organic cultivation for highly valued species with low production rates in the wild (e.g., Scolymus hispanicus and Silene vulgaris); 2) commercial wild collection for culturally appreciated species with high yields in the wild (e.g., Allium ampeloprasum and Chondrilla juncea); and 3) maintenance of traditional practices and rates of harvest for all species for self-consumption.

- by Laura Aceituno
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- Ethnobotany, Biology, Ethnobiology, Weed Ecology

"Vienna’s Museum für Vökerkunde holds in its collections a rare sixteenth-century Taíno cotton
belt from Hispaniola (today’s Dominican Republic/Haiti) – one of only two surviving Taíno
cotton artefacts to feature European ‘exotics’, including mirrors, jet beads and brass. This complex
woven structure – a wearable work of art – offers a rare window on to one of the most prestigious
of Taı´no valuables, a personal ornament that literally wrapped the wearer in wealth, status and
spiritual power. The paper charts the original context and use of Taı´no belts, and provides a
detailed account of the Vienna belt’s collection history, its construction and its chronological
placement (radiocarbon-dated using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to AD 1475–1635). The
question of how and when the European materials were incorporated into the belt is explored,
critically engaging the entangled histories of association between the two."

- by Joanna Ostapkowicz
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- Ethnohistory, Archaeology, Ethnoarchaeology, Museum Studies

Colonists who arrived in Australia from 1788 used the bush to alleviate shortages of basic supplies, such as building materials, foods and medicines. They experimented with types of material that they considered similar to European sources. On the frontier, explorers and settlers gained knowledge of the bush through observing Aboriginal hunter-gatherers. Europeans incorporated into their own 'bush medicine' a few remedies derived from an extensive Aboriginal pharmacopeia. Differences between European and Aboriginal notions of health, as well as colonial perceptions of 'primitive' Aboriginal culture, prevented a larger scale transfer of Indigenous healing knowledge to the settlers. Since British settlement there has been a blending of Indigenous and Western European health traditions within the Aboriginal community. Philip Clarke-Aboriginal healing practices and Australian bush medicine 4

Background: This study examined the use of wild plants in the food, medicinal and veterinary areas within a small territory limited to one village council in the Liubań district of Belarus. The objectives of the research were to document the current and past uses of wild plants in this region for food and human/animal medication; to analyse the food, medicinal and veterinary areas in the context of wild plants; and to qualitatively compare the results with relevant publications concerning the wild food plants of Belarus. Methods: Fieldwork was carried out as a practical part of a development cooperation project in May 2016 in 11 villages of the Liubań district. One hundred thirty-four respondents were selected randomly. Information about local uses of wild plants was obtained via semi-structured interviews and the folk-history method. Interview records were digitalized and the data structured in Detailed Use Records (DUR), which were divided into food, medicinal and veterinary areas...

- by Mare Kõiva
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- Sociology, Geography, Anthropology, Ethnobotany

Background: Ethnobotany in SouthEastern Europe is gaining the interest of several scholars and stakeholders, since it is increasingly considered a key point for the re-evaluation of local bio-cultural heritage. The region of Gollobordo, located in Eastern Albania and bordering the Republic of Macedonia, is of particular interest for conducting ethnobiological studies, since it remained relatively isolated for the larger part of the 20 th Century and is traditionally inhabited by a majority of ethnic Macedonians and a minority of Albanians (nowadays both sharing the Muslim faith). Methods: An ethnobotanical survey focused on local food, medicinal, and veterinary plant uses was conducted with 58 participants using open and semi-structured interviews and via participant observation. Results: We recorded and identified 115 taxa of vascular plants, which are locally used for food, medicinal, and veterinary purposes (representing 268 total plant reports). The Macedonian Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) was greater than the Albanian TEK, especially in the herbal and ritual domains. This phenomenon may be linked to the long socio-cultural and linguistic isolation of this group during the time when the borders between Albania and the former Yugoslavia were completely closed. Moreover, the unusual current food utilisation of cooked potatoes leaves, still in use nowadays among Macedonians, could represent the side effect of an extreme adaptation that locals underwent over the past century when the introduction of the potato crop made new strategies available for establishing stable settlements around the highest pastures. Additionally, the difference in use of Helichrysum plicatum, which is popular in the local Macedonian folk medicine but absent among Albanians, confirms the particular significance of this taxon as it relates to the yellow colour of its flowers in South Slavic folklore. Conclusion: Botanical studies with an ethnographic approach are crucial for understanding patterns of use of plants within given cultures. Importantly, such studies can also allow for analysis of the dynamics of change in these TEK patterns over the time. The results of this study may be important as baseline data set to be used in rural development programs in Gollobordo, aimed at fostering community-based strategies of management of natural resources.

- by Anely Nedelcheva
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- Sociology, Ethnobotany, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Biology

The diversity of local Mediterranean food elements is not known in detail, but offers itself to search for new vegetables, salads, fruits and spices which could be used in to enrich diets outside their region of origin. Most amid those interesting local elements are edible wild plants and weeds. Ethnobotanical research has identified ca. 2,300 different plant and fungi taxa, which are gathered and consumed in the Mediterranean. Among these, 1,000 are only consumed in one single zone, therefore are strictly local. The percentage of local gathered food plant (GFP) taxa (present in 5 samples), is higher in the main centers of diversity at the periphery of the Mediterranean (Sahara, Alps, Caucasus, Canary Islands, the Levant). Islands (Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus) also show a high proportion. Endemism of GFP taxa only accounts for a limited number of these ‘ethnobotanical endemics’ (only ca. 350 are endemic/ endangered species). On the other hand, only a few taxa – 30 occurring in...

- by Michael Heinrich
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- History, Geography, Nutrition and Dietetics, Human Genetics
- by Füsun Z . ERTUG
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- Ethnoarchaeology, Ethnobotany

Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp.;) is a shrub or small tree 3-7.5 m tall that can be found in native stands or as isolated individuals throughout Brazil. The leaves of jaborandi contain the alkaloid pilocarpine, widely used in ophthalmology for treatment of certain types of glaucoma and more recently for xerostomia. This paper discusses the current systems of production of jaborandi leaves in Maranhao, Northeastern Brazil. On one side, the extractivism practiced by indigenous people and peasants; on the other, the plantation recently established, as the result of heavy investment by a pharmaceutical company. In the extractive system, the non-sustainable exploitation of the drug-rich leaves of this plant species may have produced considerable damage to the native populations over time, reducing the size of the populations, and impoverishing their gene pools. The following potential effects of the plantation are discussed; contribute to diminishing the pressure on wild populations; impact on the local people currently involved in the extractivism; and its impacts on the local economies. Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp., Rutaceae): Uma Esp6cie Nativa e Sua Rfipida Transforma~o em Cultura. Jaborandi (Pilocarpus sp.) ~ um arbusto ou arvoreta de 3-7.5 m de altura, que pode ser encontrado em formaf6es nativas ou como indfviduos isolados em vdrias partes do Brazil. As folhas do jaborandi cont~m o alcal6ide pilocarpina, largamente utilizado em oftalmologia, no tratamento de certos tipos de glaucoma. Este trabalho mostra vdrios aspectos dos atuais sistemas de produfao de folhas de jaborandi no Maranh~o, Nordeste do Brasil. De um lado, o sistema extrativista praticado por comunidades indigenas e camponeses; do outro, a plan-tagSo, recentemente implantada como resultado de significativo investimento por parte de uma industria farmac~utica, buscando domesticaf~o desta esp~cie nativa. No sistema extrativista, a explorag8o extrativa das folhas de jaborandi pode estar produzindo danos considertiveis its populaf6es nativas, reduzindo o tamanho dessas populag6es e empobrecendo suas bases gen(ticas. A plantafao, por outro lado, levanta quest6es em relafao ~ sua contribuifao para diminuir a pressao sobre as populagSes nativas, sobre o futuro do povo atualmente envolvido no extrativismo, e os seus efeitos na economia local.

- by Claudio Urbano Bittencourt Pinheiro
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- Ophthalmology, Ethnobotany, Plant Biology, Biology

In 1883, Józef Rostafiński (1859-1928), a botanist and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (then Austria-Hungary), published a survey regarding the names and uses of plants in the Polish lands. The most complete version of the questionnaire contained questions regarding approximately 130 species. One of the responses, by Antoni Szymański, is published here,

- by Piotr Köhler
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- Ethnobotany, Poland, Historical ethnobotany, Usefull Plants

The subject of the article comprises rituals of therapic offering recorded in the historical sources of the 16th–18th centuries and their structural elements, abundant in Lithuanian healing practices and concepts of the 19th–21st centuries.
There are two types of therapic offering mentioned in the sources: 1) those performed at definite times of the year (during warm and
cold periods), aimed at upholding the well-being of the family members, livestock, and crops;
2) those performed at any time of the year in case of unexpected threat to the well-being of the family, livestock or crops.
The rituals differ clearly according to the gender of performers (men or women); also, blood sacrifices and bloodless (food) offerings may be discerned. Differences in performing the rituals may be influenced by the ritual intention (e. g., pleading for health, thanking for healing or for staving off danger, harming the health, diagnosing, etc.). Seasonal offerings could have performed the function of blessing the raw medicinal materials.
The medicinal plants along with the body parts of the sacrificed animals used to be applied as healing means and amulets. Valuable data is provided by the analysis of the social context of the traditional healing of the 16th–18thcenturies. The organization
of ritual is characterized by active participation of the nobles, and the communal nature of the ritual is emphasized by the traits of the contract with spirits (deities), typical to the offering. Examination of the social context of the ritual also prompts critical evaluation
of the strict pattern of connecting animals of certain spices with concrete deities, hitherto quite established in the studies of the Baltic religion and mythology.
Traces pertaining to the complex of therapic offering are abundant in texts, concepts and social contexts of the living tradition of charms of the 20th–21st centuries. The ancient ritual offering used to have a multiple addressee, which is also preserved by the living tradition of charms.
Because of the pressure of external factors (e. g., persecution by the Church, the negative public opinion) the rituals of the blood sacrifice were denounced or transferred into the private space (e. g., turning into symbolic blood drops), and the charm tradition stemming from the old ritual prayers could have become pivotal in the Lithuanian healing tradition, replacing the earlier therapic offerings (sacrifices). Major part of the animals, corresponding to the ritual semantic of offerings in the practices pertaining to the living tradition of healing of the 20th–21st centuries, as well as the actions performed with them most probably are relics of the old rituals of the therapic offering, newly integrated in the syncretic tradition, preserving the essential old concepts of health and illness along with the strategies of healing.
The results of analyzing the ritual complex of the old therapic offering are especially important to the studies of development taking place in the customs of blessing the medicinal plants and the fragmentation and erosion of the vegetal ritual ethnomedicinal complex in the living tradition.

Although the majority of serious cases in the world are concerned with snake bite envenomation, but those which are caused by scorpion stings are also famous for causing extreme pain. The present view is an attempt to enlist scientifically ignored medicinal plants of Pakistan exhibiting anti-scorpion venom activity. In this review data of 35 medicinal plants is collected with their families, parts used, distribution in Pakistan, and major constituents present in plant. Amaranthaceae, Astraceae and Euphorbiaceae represent 3 species. Anacardiaceae, Asclepidaceae and Liliaceae represent 2 species. Araceae, Capparidaceae, Ceasalpinaceae, Cyperaceae, Labiatae, Lamiaceae, Meliaceae, Menispermaceae, Oleaceae, Oxalidaceae, Pinaceae, Polygonaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rubiaceae, Solanaceae, Valerianaceae and Zingiberaceae represented single medicinal plant with anti scorpion potential. According to literature, all parts are used in anti scorpion envenomination. Leaves exhibit 30%, whole plant 9%, fru...

- by ashif sajjad
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- Ethnobotany, Traditional Medicine, Pakistan, Medicinal Plants

The main objectives of this research were to determine which medicinal plants are culturally most important for the native community of Vencedor as well as testing a new measure of the cultural importance of medicinal plants that can be used outside of this one particular case. Data were collected through participant observation, informal conversation, and semi-structured and structured interviews to 31 heads of family. According to the Cultural Significance for Conservation Index (CSCI) developed, significant species were Petiveria alliacea L., Jatropha gossypifolia L., Mansoa alliacea (Lam.) A.H.Gentry, Hura crepitans L., and Banisteriopsis caapi (Spruce ex Griseb.) C.V.Morton. Our index showed a significant correlation with the other indices considered in this paper. We conclude that CSCI is a good indicator of the cultural importance of medicinal plants and that it can be useful in cases where there is a need to recognize which culturally important plants are more vulnerable.

Dichotomous Key to Oaks of Southern California

- by Kevin Mason
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- Ethnobotany, Quercus, Field Guide, Southern California
- by ingvar svanberg
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- Ethnobotany, Ethnobiology, Sweden, Sámi Studies

Aim: The effect of oil got from the fruit pulp of Canarium schweinfurthii on normal and STZ-induced diabetic rats was evaluated. Methodology: Twenty four rats were divided into six groups of four each. Group 1 (normal rats) received 5 ml of distilled water, group 2 diabetic rats received STZ + 5 ml / kg b.w glibenclamide; groups 3,4 and 5 STZ-induced diabetic rats received 5 ml, 10 ml and 20 ml per b.w of C.s oil respectively while group 6 STZ-induced diabetic rats received no treatment. All treatments were orally administered using an oral-gastric tube for two weeks. Changes in blood glucose concentration were compared to positive (STZ + glibenclamide) and negative (STZ only) controls. Results: The oil showed
positive effect against STZ-induced diabetic rats after 2 hrs at all dose levels tested. Daily administration of 10 ml / b.w of C.s oil showed similar activities as the reference drug (glibenclamide) and glucose reduction compared to STZ only. At 20 ml / b.w daily administration of C.s oil, mortality was observed. Conclusion: In conclusion, Canarium schweinfurthii fruit oil may be considered as a remedy for diabetes mellitus when administered at low doses (10 ml / bw and below) for long-term use. Further research is recommended.

- by Oghale Ovuakporie-Uvo
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- Ethnobotany, Herbal Medicine, Phytotherapy, Phytomedicne

The use of medicinal plants and other natural multicomponent remedies might be one measure to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock. Ethnoveterinary research has the potential to identify promising natural remedies. The knowledge... more

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- by Richard Stoffle
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- Sociology, Anthropology, Ethnobotany, American Indian Studies
- by Mahnaz Hossain Fariba
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- Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Ethnobotany

The presentation will outline the value of the cultural botany project to both the Moroccan community in London and the botanic garden community in stressing the current polemic of gardens speaking as much of capitol and control as of plants and nature (Hestor and Fancis 93), and characterising the ideas and values of our time . This will lead to a final discursive comment re the cultural botany project as: Re evaluating interpretation in the botanic garden: a question of authorship.

- by Justin M Nolan
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- Ethnobotany, Biocultural Diversity, Traditional Medicine, Social Ecology
- by Md. Salah Uddin
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- Pharmacy, Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants, Medicine

Background: Bodhi beads are a Buddhist prayer item made from seeds. Bodhi beads have a large and emerging market in China, and demand for the beads has particularly increased in Buddhism regions, especially Tibet. Many people have started to focus on and collect Bodhi beads and to develop a Bodhi bead culture. But no research has examined the source plants of Bodhi beads. Therefore, ethnobotanical surveys were conducted in six provinces of China to investigate and document Bodhi bead plants. Reasons for the development of Bodhi bead culture were also discussed. Methods: Six provinces of China were selected for market surveys. Information was collected using semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, and participatory observation with traders, tourists, and local residents. Barkhor Street in Lhasa was focused on during market surveys because it is one of the most popular streets in China. Results: Forty-seven species (including 2 varieties) in 19 families and 39 genera represented 52 types of Bodhi beads that were collected. The most popular Bodhi bead plants have a long history and religious significance. Most Bodhi bead plants can be used as medicine or food, and their seeds or fruits are the main elements in these uses. 'Bodhi seeds' have been historically used in other countries for making ornaments, especially seeds of the legume family. Many factors helped form Bodhi bead culture in China, but its foundation was in Indian Buddhist culture. Conclusions: As one of the earliest adornment materials, seeds played an important role for human production and life. Complex sources of Bodhi beads have different cultural and historical significance. People bought and collected Bodhi beads to reflect their love and admiration for the plants. Thus, the documentation of Bodhi bead plants can serve as a basis for future investigation of Bodhi bead culture and modern Buddhist culture.

- by Chunlin Long
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- Buddhism, Sociology, Ethnobotany, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Poster presenter in International Symposium on Plant Taxonomy and Ethnobotany by Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata in February 2020

- by Kumar Avinash
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- Ethnobotany

This paper reports on the results of several research field trips made to the Chalbi Desert area of Marsabit District, northern Kenya, between 1979 and 1983 to study natural resource use and social aspects of Gabra life. The Gabra are nomadic pastoralists who depend primarily on camels and smallstock for subsistence. This report describes plants used by Gabra and their livestock for various purposes.

- by Daniel Stiles and +1
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- Ethnobotany, Pastoralism (Social Anthropology), Land Use

Los conocimientos tradicionales relativos a los recursos biológicos que nos rodean han pasado de padres a hijos de forma oral. No están en los libros y por lo tanto no llegan a nuestros alumnos. En este trabajo los autores presentan una serie de experiencias en las que, a través del olfato y el sabor, los alumnos aprenden a identificar las plantas aromáticas más frecuentes en su entorno y a conocer sus propiedades y usos, a la vez que adquieren conceptos incluidos en el currículo.

- by Alonso Verde
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- Education, Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants, Traditional Knowledge and Ethnobiology

Research on the benefits of local ecological knowledge for conservation lacks empirical data on the pathways through which local knowledge might affect natural resources management. We test whether ethnobotanical skills, a proxy for local ecological knowledge, are associated to the clearance of forest through their interaction with agricultural labor. We collected information from men in a society of gatherers-horticulturalist, the Tsimane' (Bolivia). Data included a baseline survey, a survey of ethnobotanical skills (n = 190 men), and two surveys on agricultural labor inputs (n = 466 plots). We find a direct effect of ethnobotanical skills in lowering the extent of forest cleared in fallow but not in old-growth forest. We also find that the interaction between ethnobotanical skills and labor invested in shifting cultivation has opposite effects depending on whether the clearing is done in oldgrowth or fallow forest. We explain the finding in the context of Tsimane' increasing integration to the market economy.

- by Unai Pascual
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- Economics, Technology, Ethnobotany, Production
- by William Merrill
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- Ethnobotany, Native North American Ethnography

Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides). Revisión a sus características morfológicas, actividad farmacológica, y biogénesis de su principal principio activo, ascaridol

- by J Rubén Gómez Castellanos
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- Ethnobotany
- by Olga Silva
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- Pharmacology, Microbiology, Pharmacy, Ethnobotany

Background: In Solomon Islands, forests have provided people with ecological services while being affected by human use and protection. This study used a quantitative ethnobotanical analysis to explore the society-forest interaction and its transformation in Roviana, Solomon Islands. We compared local plant and land uses between a rural village and urbanized village. Special attention was paid to how local people depend on biodiversity and how traditional human modifications of forest contribute to biodiversity conservation. Methods: After defining locally recognized land-use classes, vegetation surveys were conducted in seven forest classes. For detailed observations of daily plant uses, 15 and 17 households were randomly selected in the rural and urban villages, respectively. We quantitatively documented the plant species that were used as food, medicine, building materials, and tools.

- by Myknee Sirikolo
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- Sociology, Ethnobotany, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Culture
- by Eve Emshwiller
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- Ethnobotany, Molecular Markers, Ethnobotany in South America

Investigation into phytochemicals from foods for disease prevention has increased substantially in the last few decades. However, a clear strategy on the selection of the most promising foods for research has been lacking. An ethnobotanical approach represents an effective method which may improve the outcomes of phytochemical research. Research on the health properties of native Australian plants is limited. The vast number of edible plants used as foods and medicines by the Australian Aboriginal population creates opportunities for the discovery of novel physiologically active compounds. Within this review, we propose an ethnobotanical approach to accelerate research towards the utilisation of native Australian plants for foods with health-enhancing properties.

- by Izabela Konczak
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- Nutrition and Dietetics, Ethnobotany, Australia, Drug Discovery

Manzanero Medina, G.I., M.A. Vásquez Dávila y H. Lustre Sánchez. 2019. El jardín botánico Cassiano Conzatti de Oaxaca: conectando la conservación de la biodiversidad, el paisaje y la recreación en un sistema agroforestal. En: Experiencias de Agroforestería en México. SEMARNAT, Red CONACYT de Sistemas Agroforestales de México. Pp. 55-59. Libro arbitrado. ISBN: 978-607-626-056-2.

- by Marco Antonio Vásquez Dávila
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- Ethnobotany, Etnobotánica, Botanica

The Linnaean system has a set of rules governing botanical nomenclature, zoological nomenclature and bacteriological nomenclature for the scientific naming of species. These set the principles, rules and standards with which authors should comply with when naming new species. In Aotearoa/New Zealand (ANZ), the knowledge and taxonomic systems of M aori (the indigenous people) have largely been the preserve of Western anthropologists, linguistics and ethnographers. As such, the Linnaean classification system has been superimposed over the pre-existing classifications of M aori since European settlement approximately 200 years ago. A range of strategies have been applied to the naming of new species within a scientific context when using the M aori language (an east-Polynesian language), which do not adhere to the Linnaean system including arbitrary practices, hybridisation, incorrect linguistic context, a lack of full understanding of the meanings of the words and names and questionable naming practices of taxonomists. This paper discusses these issues, including examples, to illustrate the breadth of issues that we encountered. Although no code of practice or set of rules can anticipate or resolve the problem, there is an advantage to developing a set of possible recommendations as to the use of M aori words in the names of new species.

- by Priscilla Wehi
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- Ethnobotany, Taxonomy, Biology, Indigenous Knowledge

Extracts from 11 plant species belonging to the Zingiberaceae were tested for antifungal activity using disc diffusion bioassays. Extracts from several members, especially Alpinia galanga, Curcuma zedoaria and Zingiber purpureum, were found to have pronounced inhibitory activities against a wide variety of human pathogenic fungi, including strains resistant to the common antifungals amphotericin B and ketoconazole. As members of the Zingiberaceae are generally regarded as safe for human consumption, these species are excellent candidates for development as novel therapeutics.

- by D. Leaman
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- Ethnobotany, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Plant Biology, Ethnopharmacology

Background: Medicinal plant species contribute significantly to folk medicine in Colombia. However, few local studies have investigated whether species used are introduced or native and whether there is a difference in importance of native and introduced medicinal plant species. The aim of the present study was to describe the use of medicinal plants within two municipalities, Campo Hermoso and Zetaquira, both in the department of Boyacá, Colombia and to assess the importance of native and introduced plants to healers, amateur healers and local people. As local healers including amateur healers have no history of introduced species our working hypotheses (H 1-2) were that H 1 : native and introduced medicinal plant species are of equal importance and H 2 : healers and amateur healers do not differentiate in their preferences between native and introduced medicinal plant species. Methods: Ten villages were included in the study. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, and open talks. Voucher specimens were collected in home gardens and during field walks. For data analysis, we calculated use value indices and Jaccard index and tested for the above hypothesis using Spearman rank-correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests. Results: Eighty medicinal plant species were described by locals as the most frequently used. Of these, 78 species were taxonomically identified, distributed within 41 families and 74 genera, which included 35 native species and 43 introduced. The highest valued families were: Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae, Rutaceae and Verbenaceae. The species ranked highest according to their Use Values, in both municipalities, were Mentha suaveolens Ehrh., Ambrosia cumanensis Kunth, and Verbena littoralis Kunth. Introduced species were more important than native ones in Zetaquira, while there was no difference in importance in Campo Hermoso. While healers relied most on the uses of native species, amateur healers were inclined to rely on introduced species. Medicinal plant administration in both municipalities follow the usual pattern: Leaves are used most commonly prepared by decoction or infusion and administrated orally. Conclusions: The high proportion of introduced plant species used in the local traditional medicines is similar to the results of a number of other ethnobotanical studies and emphasise the need for efforts to record and maintain traditional knowledge on native species.

- by Marten Soerensen
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- Sociology, Ethnobotany, Colombia, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Plants are used as ethno-medicine by indigenous people living all around the world. In Nepal, plants are being used for healing diseases since a long period by various ethnic groups of rural areas due to difficulty in the availability of modern medicines. Many researchers have contributed to documentation of ethnomedicinal knowledge on plants in Nepal; however few studies have been carried out on hilly districts. Our study aims to review and compile all the published research documents on ethnomedicinal uses of plants by various ethnic groups of hilly districts in Nepal. Altogether 35 published documents till August 2020, accessed through Google Scholar and Research Gate were selected for our study. A total of 215 plant species from 93 families was found to be used for the treatment of 139 types of diseases by 10 ethnic groups of 13 hilly districts. Also, leaves were used for the treatment of maximum numbers of diseases (69). Plants from Fabaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae, etc. were used to treat major diseases like; diabetes, asthma, stomachache, fever, jaundice, etc. Traditional knowledge on medicinal uses of plants is needed to be explored and documented to preserve traditional medicinal knowledge as well as medicinal plants.

- by Mahamad Sayab Miya and +2
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- Ethnobotany, Medicinal Plants, Ethnomedicine, Plants

In our American Religious Diversity class at Edmonds CC, we had the opportunity to interview the Chair of the Snohomish Tribe, Mike Evans (dídahalqid). Mike grew up in Port Angeles with Snohomish heritage from his mother. His Mother didn't discuss their native culture much for she grew up in an era that considered being native a bad thing. Things changed for Mike after an epiphany he had that encouraged him to study his culture; this eventually led to Mike becoming the Chair of the Snohomish Tribe and developing service-learning partnerships involving ethnobotany and Tribal Canoe Journeys with Edmonds Community College.

- by Thomas W Murphy and +1
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- Community Colleges, Ethnobotany, Environmental Anthropology, Service Learning

In 1883 Józef Rostafiński (1850-1928) distributed a questionnaire in order to collect the local names which were in use for cultivated plants in the territory of Poland. He had never fully used the obtained data which comprised 129 plant species and 15 508 records of individual names for them. Nowadays these materials are of particularly great value for comparative studies in the field of history of botany and agriculture, as well as in linguistics and social science.

- by Piotr Köhler
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- Ethnobotany, Inquiry, History of Botany, Rostafiński Józef (1850-1928)

The Lehigh Gap Wildlife Refuge is a 750-acre tract on the Kittatinny Ridge bordered by the Lehigh River, Appalachian Trail, and Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. It is also part of the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund site. 1 Eighty years of zinc smelter air pollution (SO 2 and metal particulates) resulted in a landscape almost devoid of vegetation. Beginning in 2003, metal-tolerant warm season grasses were tested as a means to revegetate the steep terrain, stop both the severe erosion and redistribution of the toxic metals, and serve as the first step in habitat restoration. The addition of soil amendments that accompanied the grass seeding apparently provided conditions sufficient for the emergence of both pioneering and invasive plant species. Certain saplings such as grey birch take up zinc and show extreme signs of stress.

- by Sarabeth Brockley
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- Historical Archaeology, Climate Change, Ethnobotany, Conservation Biology

South Africa’s educational landscape is scarred with economic and educational inequalities. South African tertiary education today has to deal with a variety of challenges including the lack of funding, both on the student’s side and on the side of the institution. The most prominent challenge relevant to our research is the extensive lack of skills and knowledge of students when coming from secondary school where they are rarely exposed to cognitive skills. Our students struggle to understand the notion of a ‘concept’ or ‘metaphor’ in an artwork: that art is not just representative or aesthetic, but communicates a message, an idea, a criticism, or appreciation. This requires creative and critical thinking. We present a case study of a drawing and animation project that aimed to facilitate this. We argue that through the integration of art theory and drawing practice, students came to understand not only how to detect critical thinking by other artists, but how to implement concepts, metaphors, or symbols in their own work. Through this project we explored drawing
• as a bridge to close the gap between theory and practice,
• as a tool for creative and critical thinking, and
• as a means to introduce technology on a basic (low-cost) level.
We found that our integrated approach narrowed the theory/practice gap and enhanced creative and critical thinking, resulting in student work of greater conceptual quality.

- by Nirmi Ziegler
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- Aesthetics, Health Promotion, Second Language Acquisition, Ethnobotany

Background Ayahuasca is a psychoactive Amazonian brew which has emerging data indicating that it has antidepressant and anxiolytic properties. Methods This paper uses data from the Global Ayahuasca Project (GAP), which was undertaken across 2017-2020 and involved 11912 people, to examine the perceived effects of ayahuasca consumption on affective symptoms. The study focused on the subsample reporting depression or anxiety diagnoses at time of Ayahuasca consumption (n = 2011). Results Of participants reporting depression (n=1571) or anxiety (n=1125) at the time of consuming Ayahuasca, 78% reported that their depression was either ‘very much’ improved (46%), or ‘completely resolved’ (32%); while 70% of those with anxiety reported that their symptoms were ‘very much’ improved (54%), or ‘completely resolved’ (16%). A range of factors were associated with greater reported affective symptoms improvement, including subjective mystical experience, number of Ayahuasca sessions, and number of...

- by Violeta Schubert
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- Anxiety Disorders, Ethnobotany, Mental Health, Depression