ETHNO BOTANY

Compiled by: Mofiris, PhD

 ETHNOBOTANY

Ethnobotany is the study of the

relationship between (uses of) plants
and people / cultures: From ethno -
study of people and botany - study of
plants. Ethnobotany is considered a
branch of ethnobiology.
 ETHNOBOTANY
• Ethnobotany is the study of how people
of a particular culture and region make of
use of indigenous plants.

• Ethnobotanists explore how plants are

used for such things as food, shelter,
medicine, clothing, hunting, divination,
cosmetics, dyeing, textiles, construction,
tools, currency, literature, rituals, social
life, religious ceremonies.
 WHAT IS ETHNOBOTANY?
… and why is
it important?
The aim of ethno-
botany is to study
how & in what ways
people use nature &
how and in what ways
people view nature.

http://sciencebulletins.am
nh.org/biobulletin/Succes
s/
belize1.html
 ETHNOBOTANY QUESTIONS

• To get a view of past existence

• To understand present uses of plants for food, medicine,
construction materials, and tools
• To have this information be a door into cultural realities
and
• To understand the future of human relationships with the
land.
 THEN AND NOW

• At first, ethnobotanies
may have only listed
plants, names, and uses.
• Today we want to know
what the people thought
about plants and want to
include
conceptualization of
Dr. Enrique Salmon, Fort
plants in studies. Lewis ethnobotany instructor
 THE BURNING QUESTIONS OF
ETHNOBOTANY:
a) What are people’s
conceptions of plants?
b) What use is made of
plants for food, med-icine,
material culture &
ceremonial purposes?
c) What is the extent of
knowledge of plants?
d) In what categories are
plant names & words that
deal with plants grouped
in the language Mgebbu Ashy, born in 1934,
e) What can be learned by has encyclopedic knowledge
studying this? of plants and the local
environ-ment in the Yangjuan,
China, region.
KINDSCHER WROTE:
 ONE OF THE
FEW BOOKS ON
THE HO-CHUNK
USES OF
PLANTS

There is also a
paper by
Kindscher and
Hurlburt, on the
Winnebago
Tribe of
Wisconsin’s
plant use, which
I also used.
 MOERMAN’S
ETHNOBOTANY
IS ANOTHER.
MOERMAN
COVERS MANY,
MANY TRIBES
AND THEIR
PLANT USES.
HE HAS PUT
HIS MATERIAL
INTO A
SEARCHABLE
DATABASE AT
HTTP://HERB.
UMD.UMICH.E
DU/
 ETHNOBOTANY SOCIETY

Ethnobiology is the study of the

relationships between humans and
their biological worlds. The purpose of
Society is to gather and disseminate
knowledge of ethnobiology, and to
foster an ongoing appreciation for the
richness of ethnobiology worldwide.
ETHNOBOTANY

The focus of
ethnobotany is on
how plants have
been or are used,
managed and
perceived in
human societies.
PLANTS AS FOOD
PLANTS AS DRUGS AND MEDICINES
PLANTS AS DECORATIONS
PLANTS AS BUILDING MATERIALS
 ETHNOBOTANY AND BOTANY

The educational objective of the

Ethnobotany Track is to provide a
unique learning environment in
which biological and social science
theorie’s are integrated to train trans
disciplinarity.
 NATURALY PLANT SOURCES

Pharmacognosy is the study of

medicinal and toxic products from
natural plant sources. At one time,
pharmacologists researching drugs
were required to understand the natural
plant world, and physicians were
schooled in plant-derived remedies.
 NATURALY PLANT SOURCES
However, as modern medicine and
drug research advanced, chemically-
synthesized drugs replaced plants as
the source of most medicinal agents in
industrialized countries. Although
research in plant sources continued and
plants were still used as the basis for
some drug development, the dominant
interest shifted to the laboratory.
 NATURALY PLANT SOURCES

The 1990's has seen a growing shift in

interest once more; plants are re-
emerging as a significant source of
new pharmaceuticals. Industries are
now interested in exploring parts of the
world where plant medicine remains
the predominant form of dealing with
illness.
 NATURALY PLANT SOURCES

To discover the practical potential of

native plants, an ethnobotanist must
have knowledge not only in the study
of plants themselves, but must also
understand and be sensitive to the
dynamics of how cultures work.
 ETHNOBOTANY IS
MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Ethnobotanists help us to understand
the frightening results which loss of
the rain forests would bring not only in
terms of consequent loss of knowledge
about tropical plants, but the
consequent damage brought on by the
loss of native cultures in their entirety,
as well as the damage to the earth's
ecological health.
 ETHNOBOTANY IS
MULTIDISCIPLINARY

This multidisciplinary approach

gives ethnobotanists more insight into
the management of tropical forest
reserves in a period of tremendous
environmental stress.
 ETHNOBOTANY AND OTHER SCIENCE

• Ethnobotany is connected in such

areas as: archeology, chemistry,
ecology, anthropology, linguistics,
history, pharmacology, sociology,
religion and mythology.
• Ethnobotanists work respectfully
with shamans within the native culture,
examining that culture's concepts of
disease.
 ETHNOBOTANIST

Work with the

use of ancient
plants as
medicinal agents
as well as with
religious or
sacred activities.
 ETHNOBOTANIST

• receive some cross training in

anthropology, botany, public health, or
relevant social sciences.
• must possess a genuine receptivity to the
distinctly unique views of the healing
systems practiced by indigenous peoples,
as well as the ability to work as a team with
ethnobotanists and others.
 HOW DOES AN ETHNOBOTANIST
WORK?

• together with
shamans or
traditional healers to
identify the specific
diseases common to
both Western
cultures and
indigenous peoples.
HOW DOES AN ETHNOBOTANIST WORK?

Often the traditional knowledge about the

plants can be obtained only by specialists
within an indigenous community-for
example the shamans, beekeepers, and
master fisherman.

Ethnobotanists sometimes obtain

information that may even be kept from the
rest of the native community. This brings
up some ethical issues on ownership to the
plant information.
 ETHNOBOTANY INTO THE FUTURE

Field ethnobotanist’s have not yet received

the same level of support and respect,
primarily because interest in this field has
only just re-emerged.

New scientific journals and societies have

begun to disseminate the studies of the
ethnobotanist’s to peers, other scientists,
and policy makers worldwide.
 ETHNOBOTANY INTO THE FUTURE

Due to increased public interest and policy

making in conservation, companies are
looking to plants for new approaches to
food, medicines, and energy sources.
University departments are opening
positions for interdisciplinary-trained
ethnobotanist’s. The future looks promising
for these dedicated scientists in a
fascinating and vital field of research.
EXAMPLE 1:
LITHUANIAN FOLK MEDICINE

Folk medicine is a part of Lithuanian

traditional culture. It contains
information not only about illnesses,
but also methods of healing, how to
avoid illness, protect health, heal
wounds and patient care.
EXAMPLE 2:
BELIZE ETHNOBOTANY
• 1988, the Belize Ethnobotany Project was
initiated to inventory, understand and conserve
as much ethnobotanical data as possible in a
country that is undergoing rapid change largely
due to a loss of natural habitat and erosion of
existing cultures as the nation becomes more
westernized
• Over 2000 plant samples have been sent to the
US for testing by the National Cancer Institute’s
Developmental Therapeutics Program as it tests
for anti-cancer and anti-HIV drugs
 BELIZE ETHNOBOTANY
• 1992 the Belize Association of Traditional Healers was
formed and Rosita Arvigo was elected its president - this
group has been active in getting land preserved
because, as they say, “we can’t do our work without our
plants”
• 2400 hectare “ethno-biomedical” forest reserve was set
aside in June 1993 to preserve medicinal plants - it was
intended to set aside an area where medicinal plants
would flourish and allow young apprentices to learn how
to identify and collect medicinal plants
ROSITA ARVIGO WITH MAYAN HEALER, THE
LATE DON ELIJO PANTI - BELIZE
 WHY ETHNOBOTANY AND NOT
ETHNOZOOLOGY?
• Primary production – biomass
• We literally ARE what we eat and plants are ultimately our energy
source
• Plants are immobile – they can’t run away from consumers or move to
avoid inhospitable conditions; they also can’t move to carry out
reproductive activities
• So, plants produce a vast array of secondary chemicals for activities
such as defense, protection, pollinator attraction, and seed dispersal
 WHY STUDY PEOPLE LIVING A MORE
TRADITIONAL LIFESTYLE?

• People tend to have a more intimate connection

with the plants they use – they know where their
food was grown, what plant it comes from, etc.
• People typically have been in the same area for
long enough to know their local plants and their
properties
CARL LINNAEUS & BOTANICAL
NOMENCLATURE

• In 1753, Linnaeus proposed a standard

way to form scientific names (in Species
Plantarum)
• Introduced ranks (e.g.,
family...genus...species) and binomial
species names
• A form of this system is still in use today
CARL LINNAEUS & THE SEXUAL SYSTEM
 LINNAEUS &
ETHNOBOTANY

• Before the scandal...

• In 1732, Linnaeus traveled alone
to Lapland (in N. Finland)
• There, he lived among the Sami
people for many months,
learning their language and
culture and documenting their
use of plants
 ETHNOBOTANICAL RESEARCH AND
MEDICINE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
• In Western medicine, only pure compounds of known
molecular structure and pharmacological activity are
acceptable drug candidates
• Developing drugs that conform to these standards is
expensive and these drugs are typically inaccessible to
people in developing countries
• Crude plant extracts that are proven to be clinically safe
and effective offer a sustainable and low cost alternative
to Western drugs in the developing world
 ETHNOBOTANICAL RESEARCH AND
MEDICINE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
• many countries, including Mexico, China, Nigeria, and
Thailand, are integrating traditional botanical medicine into
their primary health care systems
• According to the World Health Organization, more than 3.5
billion people in the developing world rely on plants as
components of their healthcare
 ETHNOBOTANICAL RESEARCH AND
MEDICINE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
• rapid urbanization / Westernization often
accompanied by the loss of traditional
medical knowledge
• ethnobotanical research plays an important
role in documenting and preserving
traditional knowledge for transfer into
primary health care system
 PRESERVING RESOURCES

• cultural (language, customs, myths, values & world

view)
• ethnobotanical knowledge
• biological (biodiversity, accessibility)
ETHNOBOTANY
 ETHNOBOTANY 1
• the study of plants learned from the people who use them
• often includes medicinal plants
• often includes the study of indigenous peoples
• research methods involve living with the people who use the plants, and
learning their methods from them
• in many cases the proper use of the plants is wrapped up with their everyday
lives, and therefore difficult to explain to foreigners
• e.g. it’s hard to walk into the forest and find a cure for cancer when the local
people don’t even have a word for cancer
• therefore foreigners like us must go to learn in THEIR environment, on THEIR
terms.
 THREATS TO ETHNOBOTANICAL KNOWLEDGE
• Threats include:
• expansion of “civilized” cultures into
their habitat
• mining
• transport
• slash&burn agriculture
• pollution
• attrition
• (young members of tribes leaving
and not returning to learn from
their elders -- no one to carry on
the traditions)
 SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHNOBOTANY
• it’s not just the plants; it’s • Currently there are new diseases for which there is no
• how they are used, known cure
• their preparation, • also some existing diseases have become resistant to
• their admixtures, and antibiotics

• knowledge of fine differences between them • the forest may be the best place to learn about drug
(closely related plants, plants that resemble each substances
other at certain stages of the year) • forests are disappearing, and with them, the people
• in most cases this knowledge is NOT written down who know how to use these plants
ANYWHERE • Note: an admixture is something added to the active
• it is part of an oral tradition -- meaning it is only ingredient to alter it in some way
passed from person to person orally, through • make it less toxic
teaching • reduce its side effects
• not all peoples have writing • increase its potency by allowing it to enter the
• even if they did, for most, their secrets are sacred bloodstream more quickly
and not to be told to just anyone
• allow it to cross the blood-brain barrier
THANK YOU