Ethnobotany

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.

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.

A Quantitative Assessment of Stone Relics in a Western Massachusetts Town

Introduction

    The nature of stone works that appear with great frequency on the Massachusetts landscape has been debated between the Native community and the State MHC for some time now.  A sacred site near the former village of Peskeompscut, on the  mid-strech of the Connecticut River found its way through State and Federal processes of evaluation.  The State attributes the many stone structures at Sacred Hill Ceremonial Site (SHCS) to “agricultural activities,” (FERC application, Section 106 report, SHCS page?) while the Native Naragansett, Nipmuc, Mohegan and Wampanoag nations insist they are sacred ceremonial landscapes. Because the State denies a Native origin for these sites, and assigns a mundane origin and purpose, ceremonial stone landscapes (CSLs) and the Traditional Cultural Practices (TCPs) with which they are associated are disqualified for protection under Massachusetts preservation laws and initiatives.  However, Federal investigation concluded that the same site is indeed Algonquian in origin and that SHCS conforms to established cultural as well as religious practices of regional indigenous peoples. Under this modern dilemma lies a historic context of genocide, cultural oppression and lack of academic investment.  Pertinent to this debate is the near-total absence of Native American persons on the faculties of Native American Studies departments of Massachusetts colleges, as well as their historic lack of understanding about regional Algonquian culture.

To elucidate origins and purposes of numerous stone relic groups in a Western Massachusetts town, a quantitative and objective assessment of 60 ostensible CSLs was performed, as based on site surveys and inventories.  All access-permitted private and public lands were assessed at a basic level, constituting roughly 60-70% of the total town area, which town has large tracts in conservation status.  Of the 60 tallied stone relic sites, 25 were further assessed for characteristics and content, from which nine representative sites were selected for deeper analysis.  Characteristics of the nine closely-studied sites were quantized as binary values for statistical treatment.  As well, physical and correlational measures were collected for analysis. For a total of approximately 1500 stone relics in the nine final sites, 33 points of data were collected per relic.
Collected data were investigated in terms of nearest-neighbor, period of manufacture, materials, methods, correlations, locations, aspect, presence of cross-cultural mixing, recent damage or alteration, and conformity with recorded cultural practices, both European and Algonquian.  Data were collected to indicate presence of absence of recognizably European stone works on sites, associated historic structures and other signs of European cultural imprint. The results indicate that the stone relic groups were constructed during at least three periods preceding and including the early years of European contact.  None of the sites indicate European cultural traditions of any type on record, while all of the sites conform to recorded Eastern Algonquian ritual uses.  Furthermore, all sites show strikingly high levels of consistency on all measured characteristics, including location, materials, design, types of objects, arrangement of objects and number of objects.  The studied sites in Western Massachusetts correlate closely to three historically documented ceremonial stone landscapes for comparison, belonging to Algonquian nations of the Munsee Delaware and Mohegan-cluster divisions, specifically, the Tankiteke of Southeast New York, the Pocumtuck of the Central Connecticut Valley and the Narragansett of Rhode Island and environs.  Finally, historical records provide accounts of traditional religious practices of the Algonquian nations, which correlate to ceremonial stone landscapes, which persist here to this day.

"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."

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...

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...

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,

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Whether communicating with a fellow practitioner, looking up research on a plant, or checking official legislation, plant names are essential to practising herbal medicine. However, names used to refer to Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) are complicated by the fact that one name can refer to several species, and these names can mean different things to different people. This creates potential for inaccuracies and miscommunication.

This article begins by giving an overview of the different names used in traditional Chinese medicine; whilst these names are useful for defining a drug entity, it is often not clear what species of plant they refer to and that they are defined differently in different publications. It then explores the benefits of using scientific names whilst also exploring the difficulties their use can present.

It goes on to cover the work Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS), a project based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been doing to highlight and help resolve these issues. MPNS has created a global resource that indexes the many different names in use and links them to up to date scientific classification. This resource is publicly available and its aim is to improve communication about medicinal plants. MPNS also advises on best practice in the use of plant names and works with global health regulators to ensure accuracy.

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.

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.

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...