Where Ethnobotany is defined as, "the study of the interactions and relationships of people and plants over time and space (1)." The importance of preserving our important plant species from over harvesting and habitat loss in Appalachia is paramount. Ethnobotany is an avenue of preservation, in that through using and learning about the incredible things that plants do for us, through medicine, food and materials, we can inspire the next generation to see value in and protect the ecosystems these plants, and people, call home. When one does not know a plant or animal, or know of its usefulness, how can one be expected to care about and protect it?
1. Ethnobotany, the Science of Survival: A Declaration from Kaua'i Economic Botany. Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press. Vol. 61, No. 1 (Spring, 2007) , pp. 1-2.
1. Ethnobotany, the Science of Survival: A Declaration from Kaua'i Economic Botany. Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden Press. Vol. 61, No. 1 (Spring, 2007) , pp. 1-2.
When pursuing the bibliographic resources on this site, though numerous and diverse in their scope, certain themes arise and call for attention: the need to inspire and see value in Appalachia’s biota and ecosystems and the continued usefulness of plants with historical significance today. By reading through the annotations and book reviews provided, the reader can get a good idea about the current state of affairs in the field of ethnobotany and what works still needs to be done to accomplish our goals. These themes all point to a day where the relationships between people and plants can become less fragmented and more practical through more research and experiences, not to mention indispensable in our nation’s quest for a more sustainable future.
Inspiring value in the ecosystems and their inhabitants in Appalachia is paramount to a sustainable future. Many works on the state of Ethnobotany today are focusing on its usefulness in catalyzing the realization of value in our world’s plants and their communities. In the article, “Transforming Ethnobotany for the New Millennium”, by Michael J. Balick, in our “General Ethnobotany” section, the realization that our discipline has adapted and changed from an antiquarian list making to biological and social science research is critical. Ethnobotany is no longer a dusty compendium of plant uses by a culture with a misspelled name. It is a multidisciplinary science, both based in botany and anthropology, that can provide useful information on the historic uses of plants, of this we are certain, but also of the continued usefulness of those plants today. If this value can become clear and easily visible by people from all sectors of society, it could help to garner support for conservation and ecological land management practices in our region damaged by reckless extraction.
Just because a practice was founded in ancient history, does not mean that it is irrelevant, nor does it imply that it is inherently errant. We see today with news stories like that about the Anglo Saxon remedy for Staph infection that kills MRSA bacteria today, or Ancient-biotics as they are being called in popular media, that may hold the keys to our modern struggles with antibiotic resistant bacteria and Superbugs. While the people of our past did not have scientific methods to discern the phytochemistry of a new medical treatment, they did have the great educator of time on their side. Through empirical observation of what treatments did and did not work (or were sometimes merely benign), our ancestors were able to amass an alarming collection of often (but not always) useful information on which plants could cure, kill, build and destroy.
Ethnobotany can also hold keys to current struggles to diversify Appalachia’s economy by displaying and demonstrating the continued usefulness of historically valuable plants. Our Appalachian rare, medicinal plants are known worldwide, but the lack of understanding and care in their harvest shows us there is much room to improve and even flourish in these enterprises. Ginseng is a good example of a non-timber forest product whose harvesting has gotten out of control, while little is done to cultivate this now endangered plant. Much research has been done on growing and harvesting Appalachian Ginseng sustainably, but new research is needed in the social sciences on how these practices can become realistic and accessible to the average ginseng harvester. Furthermore, more research needs to be done to see what it will take for people divorced from the outdoor experience, especially urban populations and those bound in the shackles of poverty, to care for and advocate for their environment. Ethnobotany’s multidisciplinary approach makes these questions not only relevant and a part of a larger dialogue, but necessary for growth and learning as we strive for more just economic prospects.
Today, in Appalachia, ethnobotany is calling for new research. Aside from the social sciences and questions of what drives the value systems humans ascribe to nature, new products and materials are just waiting to be discovered, or better yet, rediscovered. By probing the past through archives, interviews, and old texts we can test and use the powers of botany and phytochemistry to tease out what new medicines, textiles and building materials can be either raised from the annals of history, or spring new out of the modern imagination. We can ask questions about why we value certain materials like silk, yet detest the prickly Stinging Nettle which makes a fabric of rivaling softness, as well as nutritious and medicinal foliage. These biases need to be examined and the assumptions and cultural limitations we have set upon ourselves cast off, so that we may truly revel in the incredible biodiversity we are so blessed to inhabit, here in Appalachia.
Inspiring value in the ecosystems and their inhabitants in Appalachia is paramount to a sustainable future. Many works on the state of Ethnobotany today are focusing on its usefulness in catalyzing the realization of value in our world’s plants and their communities. In the article, “Transforming Ethnobotany for the New Millennium”, by Michael J. Balick, in our “General Ethnobotany” section, the realization that our discipline has adapted and changed from an antiquarian list making to biological and social science research is critical. Ethnobotany is no longer a dusty compendium of plant uses by a culture with a misspelled name. It is a multidisciplinary science, both based in botany and anthropology, that can provide useful information on the historic uses of plants, of this we are certain, but also of the continued usefulness of those plants today. If this value can become clear and easily visible by people from all sectors of society, it could help to garner support for conservation and ecological land management practices in our region damaged by reckless extraction.
Just because a practice was founded in ancient history, does not mean that it is irrelevant, nor does it imply that it is inherently errant. We see today with news stories like that about the Anglo Saxon remedy for Staph infection that kills MRSA bacteria today, or Ancient-biotics as they are being called in popular media, that may hold the keys to our modern struggles with antibiotic resistant bacteria and Superbugs. While the people of our past did not have scientific methods to discern the phytochemistry of a new medical treatment, they did have the great educator of time on their side. Through empirical observation of what treatments did and did not work (or were sometimes merely benign), our ancestors were able to amass an alarming collection of often (but not always) useful information on which plants could cure, kill, build and destroy.
Ethnobotany can also hold keys to current struggles to diversify Appalachia’s economy by displaying and demonstrating the continued usefulness of historically valuable plants. Our Appalachian rare, medicinal plants are known worldwide, but the lack of understanding and care in their harvest shows us there is much room to improve and even flourish in these enterprises. Ginseng is a good example of a non-timber forest product whose harvesting has gotten out of control, while little is done to cultivate this now endangered plant. Much research has been done on growing and harvesting Appalachian Ginseng sustainably, but new research is needed in the social sciences on how these practices can become realistic and accessible to the average ginseng harvester. Furthermore, more research needs to be done to see what it will take for people divorced from the outdoor experience, especially urban populations and those bound in the shackles of poverty, to care for and advocate for their environment. Ethnobotany’s multidisciplinary approach makes these questions not only relevant and a part of a larger dialogue, but necessary for growth and learning as we strive for more just economic prospects.
Today, in Appalachia, ethnobotany is calling for new research. Aside from the social sciences and questions of what drives the value systems humans ascribe to nature, new products and materials are just waiting to be discovered, or better yet, rediscovered. By probing the past through archives, interviews, and old texts we can test and use the powers of botany and phytochemistry to tease out what new medicines, textiles and building materials can be either raised from the annals of history, or spring new out of the modern imagination. We can ask questions about why we value certain materials like silk, yet detest the prickly Stinging Nettle which makes a fabric of rivaling softness, as well as nutritious and medicinal foliage. These biases need to be examined and the assumptions and cultural limitations we have set upon ourselves cast off, so that we may truly revel in the incredible biodiversity we are so blessed to inhabit, here in Appalachia.
Web Resources
Ethnobotany conferences
Open Science Network
The Purpose of Teaching Ethnobotany
Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
Journals
International Journal for Phytotherapy and Ethnobotany
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Society for and Journal of Ethnobiology
The European Journal of Medicinal Plants
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
Native Plants Journal
Global Journal of Research on Medicinal Plants & Indigenous Medicine
Journal of Psychoactive Plants and Compounds
Journal of Herbal Medicine
Relevant News for Ethnobotany
Anglo Saxon Remedy found to Kill MRSA bacteria in vitro
Useful Bibliography
Arber, Agnes. Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution: A Chapter in the History of Botany. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1953.
Balick, Michael J. “Transforming Ethnobotany for the New Millennium”. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 83.1 (1996): 58–66.
This scholarly journal article from the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1990 examines the changes in the discipline of Ethnobotany since its inception. It traces the beginnings of the study from its focus on “aboriginal botany” to its present day developments as a means to study the relationship between plants and people in a broad sense by incorporating a multidisciplinary perspective.
Founded in systematic botany, it seems that Ethnobotany has begun to incorporate anthropology, botany, nutrition, ecology, conservation, economics and many other areas of study into its lexicon of research resources. The very nature of this integration has changed the way Ethnobotany is performed as well as its types of scholarship that are born from it. Its methods as well as its meaning has changed. This is made evident by the examples of a few ethnobotanical projects the author highlights. These include ethnobotanical market assessments in Mexico and ethnobotanical germplasm conservation projects.
These projects and the burgeoning multidisciplinary approach that Ethnobotany has adopted allow for Ethnobotany to display its relevance not only in the questions that it examines and the research that it supplies, but also, through that ways in which it can raise awareness of various biological issues. Ethnobotany can function as a methods of adding value to biological diversity and support for conservation from a broader range of people, not just botanists. The varied nature of this field of study and its incorporation of a variety of research methods, philosophies and other sciences allows Ethnobotany to occupy a unique space in the conversation about reconnecting humankind to plant life and still, in studying those cultures that have retained that connection.
Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Emmaus, PA: Rodale/Book Division, 1974. Print.
Written in 1974, this book is surprisingly relevant to anyone researching the use, history and folklore of 500 different plants. A difficult to find, out of print book, it is written by Nelson Coon, a librarian and author of many plant works. He endeavored in this book to select plants from all over the United States, and defines his interest as rooted in real life experience with plants as well as visits to various places, including Appalachia, to interview people on the uses of various plants.
A word of caution, many plant names and families have been changed since 1974, so attention must be paid to species and varieties of plants when using this as a reference. The plants are organized into uses by food, medicine, poison, crafts and dye. It is good to use in conjunction with Peterson’s Field Guides and/or Sam Thayer’s Natures Harvest. Overall, it is a well done collection of entries with robust bibliographies after each section that belie the author’s experience in the library sciences.
Dannaway, Frederick R. "Strange Fires, Weird Smokes And Psychoactive Combustibles: Entheogens And Incense In Ancient Traditions." Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs 42.4 (2010): 485-497. Academic Search Complete. Web.
de Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino, and Natalia Hanazaki. “Commentary: Five Problems in Current Ethnobotanical Research—and Some Suggestions for Strengthening Them”. Human Ecology 37.5 (2009): 653–661.
Fosberg, F. Raymond. "Economic Botany—A Modern Concept of Its Scope." Journal of Economic Botany 2.1 (1948): 3-14.
Hardy, Karen. "Prehistoric String Theory. How Twisted Fibres Helped To Shape The World." Antiquity 82.(2008): 271-280. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web.
Hatfield, Gabrielle. Encyclopedia Of Folk Medicine : Old World And New World Traditions. n.p.: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2004., 2004.
Jones, Volney H. "The Nature and Status of Ethnobotany." Chronica Botanica 6.10 (1941): 219-21.
Online Archive of American Folk Medicine [200,000 folk remedies]. Established 1996. Director, Michael Owen Jones, University of California, Los Angeles. Advanced Search mode allows limiting by Mountain South location; “contains material from the UCLA Archive of American Folk Medicine established by Wayland D. Hand in the 1940s.” http://www.folkmed.ucla.edu/index.html.
Prance, Ghillean T. "Ethnobotany, the Science of Survival: A Declaration from Kaua’i." Journal of Economic Botany 61.1 (2007): 1-2. Web.
Schultes, Richard Evans. “The Importance of Ethnobotany in Environmental Conservation”. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.2 (1994): 202–206.
Schultes, Richard Evans., and Siri Von Reis. Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline. Portland, Or.: Dioscorides, 1995. Print.
Sumner, Judith. American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants, 1620-1900. Portland, OR: Timber, 2004.
This book, by Judith Sumner, a botanist who has taught at both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, is a treasure trove of information both historical and scientific. Beginning with Native American agriculture around 1620, she traces the stories of how many of the popular plants for food, medicine and materials came to be used in the United States. Her unique botanical and historical knowledge meld to bring woodcut illustrations alongside molecular diagrams and phytochemical examinations of hundreds of plants.
Any Ethnobotanical examination of a plant history should consult this book. She covers everything from grains to preservation methods, historically describing them and scientifically explaining them. It is not a book filled with charts and graphs, but arranged by plant types and uses such as her chapters on Fruits as well as Food Preservation, delivered in a narrative style. One reading will not due, as I have read this book cover to cover at least three times and turn to it for countless pieces of research, discovering new gems each time. It spans the disciplines of biology, history and horticulture to give a well researched, easily digestible, and frankly enjoyable, read on such a complex topic.
Sumner, Judith. The Natural History of Medicinal Plants. Portland, Or.: Timber, 2000. Print.
Timbrook, Jan. "Ethnographic Perspectives On Archaeobotany." Proceedings Of The Society For California Archaeology 26 (2012): 220-224.
Ethnobotany conferences
Open Science Network
The Purpose of Teaching Ethnobotany
Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
Journals
International Journal for Phytotherapy and Ethnobotany
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Society for and Journal of Ethnobiology
The European Journal of Medicinal Plants
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
Native Plants Journal
Global Journal of Research on Medicinal Plants & Indigenous Medicine
Journal of Psychoactive Plants and Compounds
Journal of Herbal Medicine
Relevant News for Ethnobotany
Anglo Saxon Remedy found to Kill MRSA bacteria in vitro
Useful Bibliography
Arber, Agnes. Herbals: Their Origin and Evolution: A Chapter in the History of Botany. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1953.
Balick, Michael J. “Transforming Ethnobotany for the New Millennium”. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 83.1 (1996): 58–66.
This scholarly journal article from the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1990 examines the changes in the discipline of Ethnobotany since its inception. It traces the beginnings of the study from its focus on “aboriginal botany” to its present day developments as a means to study the relationship between plants and people in a broad sense by incorporating a multidisciplinary perspective.
Founded in systematic botany, it seems that Ethnobotany has begun to incorporate anthropology, botany, nutrition, ecology, conservation, economics and many other areas of study into its lexicon of research resources. The very nature of this integration has changed the way Ethnobotany is performed as well as its types of scholarship that are born from it. Its methods as well as its meaning has changed. This is made evident by the examples of a few ethnobotanical projects the author highlights. These include ethnobotanical market assessments in Mexico and ethnobotanical germplasm conservation projects.
These projects and the burgeoning multidisciplinary approach that Ethnobotany has adopted allow for Ethnobotany to display its relevance not only in the questions that it examines and the research that it supplies, but also, through that ways in which it can raise awareness of various biological issues. Ethnobotany can function as a methods of adding value to biological diversity and support for conservation from a broader range of people, not just botanists. The varied nature of this field of study and its incorporation of a variety of research methods, philosophies and other sciences allows Ethnobotany to occupy a unique space in the conversation about reconnecting humankind to plant life and still, in studying those cultures that have retained that connection.
Coon, Nelson. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Emmaus, PA: Rodale/Book Division, 1974. Print.
Written in 1974, this book is surprisingly relevant to anyone researching the use, history and folklore of 500 different plants. A difficult to find, out of print book, it is written by Nelson Coon, a librarian and author of many plant works. He endeavored in this book to select plants from all over the United States, and defines his interest as rooted in real life experience with plants as well as visits to various places, including Appalachia, to interview people on the uses of various plants.
A word of caution, many plant names and families have been changed since 1974, so attention must be paid to species and varieties of plants when using this as a reference. The plants are organized into uses by food, medicine, poison, crafts and dye. It is good to use in conjunction with Peterson’s Field Guides and/or Sam Thayer’s Natures Harvest. Overall, it is a well done collection of entries with robust bibliographies after each section that belie the author’s experience in the library sciences.
Dannaway, Frederick R. "Strange Fires, Weird Smokes And Psychoactive Combustibles: Entheogens And Incense In Ancient Traditions." Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs 42.4 (2010): 485-497. Academic Search Complete. Web.
de Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino, and Natalia Hanazaki. “Commentary: Five Problems in Current Ethnobotanical Research—and Some Suggestions for Strengthening Them”. Human Ecology 37.5 (2009): 653–661.
Fosberg, F. Raymond. "Economic Botany—A Modern Concept of Its Scope." Journal of Economic Botany 2.1 (1948): 3-14.
Hardy, Karen. "Prehistoric String Theory. How Twisted Fibres Helped To Shape The World." Antiquity 82.(2008): 271-280. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web.
Hatfield, Gabrielle. Encyclopedia Of Folk Medicine : Old World And New World Traditions. n.p.: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2004., 2004.
Jones, Volney H. "The Nature and Status of Ethnobotany." Chronica Botanica 6.10 (1941): 219-21.
Online Archive of American Folk Medicine [200,000 folk remedies]. Established 1996. Director, Michael Owen Jones, University of California, Los Angeles. Advanced Search mode allows limiting by Mountain South location; “contains material from the UCLA Archive of American Folk Medicine established by Wayland D. Hand in the 1940s.” http://www.folkmed.ucla.edu/index.html.
Prance, Ghillean T. "Ethnobotany, the Science of Survival: A Declaration from Kaua’i." Journal of Economic Botany 61.1 (2007): 1-2. Web.
Schultes, Richard Evans. “The Importance of Ethnobotany in Environmental Conservation”. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 53.2 (1994): 202–206.
Schultes, Richard Evans., and Siri Von Reis. Ethnobotany: Evolution of a Discipline. Portland, Or.: Dioscorides, 1995. Print.
Sumner, Judith. American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants, 1620-1900. Portland, OR: Timber, 2004.
This book, by Judith Sumner, a botanist who has taught at both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, is a treasure trove of information both historical and scientific. Beginning with Native American agriculture around 1620, she traces the stories of how many of the popular plants for food, medicine and materials came to be used in the United States. Her unique botanical and historical knowledge meld to bring woodcut illustrations alongside molecular diagrams and phytochemical examinations of hundreds of plants.
Any Ethnobotanical examination of a plant history should consult this book. She covers everything from grains to preservation methods, historically describing them and scientifically explaining them. It is not a book filled with charts and graphs, but arranged by plant types and uses such as her chapters on Fruits as well as Food Preservation, delivered in a narrative style. One reading will not due, as I have read this book cover to cover at least three times and turn to it for countless pieces of research, discovering new gems each time. It spans the disciplines of biology, history and horticulture to give a well researched, easily digestible, and frankly enjoyable, read on such a complex topic.
Sumner, Judith. The Natural History of Medicinal Plants. Portland, Or.: Timber, 2000. Print.
Timbrook, Jan. "Ethnographic Perspectives On Archaeobotany." Proceedings Of The Society For California Archaeology 26 (2012): 220-224.
