Botanical knowledge and indigenous textiles in the Southern Mindanao highlands: method and synthesis using ethnography and ethnobotany

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Cherubim Quizon ◽  
Fe Magpayo-Bagajo
Keyword(s):  
Botanical Knowledge

“The Art or Mystery of Physick” – Asante Medicinal Plants and the Western Ordering of Botanical Knowledge

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 27-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom C. McCaskie
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
West African ◽  
Tabular Form ◽  
The West ◽  
Global Expansion ◽  
The Core ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
History Of ◽  
Longue Duree

Abstract:This paper deals with aspects of the still relatively neglected history of African medicinal plants. The core of the paper is a discussion in tabular form of the plants collected in the West African forest kingdom of Asante in 1817 by Henry Tedlie, a member of the well known English mission led by Thomas Bowdich. More generally, the paper considers episodes in the accumulation of Akan, Asante, and African plant specimens by Europeans, and the eventual classification of these in a western authorized botanical taxonomy that is now in worldwide use. The gathering of potentially medicinal plants is a little studied facet of European global expansion, from exploration to colonialism and beyond, and of the sovereign scientific orthodoxy that became established alongside it. The paper frames and discusses relevant details of this process over thelongue durée, from pre-Linnaean taxonomies to current controversies over bioprospecting.

LatinX botanical epistemologies

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 108-124
Author(s):  
María DeGuzmán
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Botanical Garden ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Tropical Plants ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
The Tropics

How is the field of Latina/o Studies concerning itself with “botanical epistemologies” in light of what scholar Claudia Milian has described as “environmental forecasts and new forms of LatinX displacements and transitions”? How have botanical epistemologies been associated with LatinX populations in the United States and its territories? How is the present-day “order of things” bringing social, economic, cultural, and ideological pressures to bear upon these epistemologies? As Chipper Wichman, Director of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, explains, “plants hold the answer to mitigating climate change, feeding the hungry, providing cures for diseases, and much more” and “80 percent or more of the planet’s biodiversity exists in the tropics and approximately one third of all tropical plants are threatened with extinction.” Plants provide living creatures with food and medicines and are responsible for producing the oxygen that makes life possible. However, “the loss of biodiversity-based cultural knowledge [of plants] is widely reported, globally as well as at the level of communities and individuals.” Specifically, LatinXs have not received credit for their botanical knowledge or its practices. This essay unearths how Latina/o Studies can help us to think through the relations among “LatinX,” botany, and the crossroads of survival and extinction—what the author proposes as “LatinX botanical epistemologies.”

Plants of the Victorian High Country

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Murphy ◽  
Bill Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Identification Keys ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
Woody Shrubs

Plants of the Victorian High Country allows walkers with little botanical knowledge to identify plants they are likely to encounter along the popular tracks of Victoria's High Country. This Second Edition has been revised and expanded to describe 133 plants from the montane, sub-alpine and alpine zones, categorising them into five easily distinguished groups: herbs, daisy herbs, low woody shrubs, tall shrubs and trees, and eucalypts. The guide features a glossary of botanical terms, straightforward identification keys, clear photos of the leaves, flowers and stems of the plant, and includes notes on Aboriginal plant usage. If you are a nature lover, planning to walk in the Victorian High Country, this book is an essential addition to your backpack.

Gertrude Elles: the pioneering graptolite geologist in a woolly hat. Her career, achievements and personal reflections from her family and colleagues

2020 ◽  
pp. SP506-2019-203
Author(s):  
J. Tubb ◽  
C. V. Burek
Keyword(s):  
Cambridge University ◽  
Geological Society ◽  
Vast Array ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
University Women ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
Good Nature ◽  
Personal Reflections

AbstractGertrude Elles gained worldwide renown for her seminal work with Ethel Wood on A Monograph of British Graptolites, which is still used today. She gained the MBE, pioneered female geological education, became the first female reader in Cambridge University and one of the first tranche of female Fellows of the Geological Society in 1919. An eccentric with a vast array of hats, PhD students and lodgers, she was a stalwart member of the Sedgwick Club and life member of the British Federation of University Women. She wrote obituaries for colleagues describing their achievements with humour and good nature. Her family describe her as ‘a fabulous woman’ with a huge range of interests including archaeology, botany and music. She related her geological and botanical knowledge in showing a nephew that plants growing along the Moine Thrust reflected change in the underlying rocks. Cambridge colleagues recall her as a ‘marvellous and well-respected figure’ who caused some amusement by her big old cluttered table from which she swept away material making room for new samples (and work for technicians). She died in 1960 in her beloved Scotland. However, her legacy survives in the classification of a group of fossils extinct for nearly 400 myr.

scholarly journals Traditional medicinal plants in South Tyrol (northern Italy, southern Alps): biodiversity and use

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Petelka ◽  
Barbara Plagg ◽  
Ina Säumel ◽  
Stefan Zerbe
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Plantago Lanceolata ◽  
Folk Medicine ◽  
Southern Alps ◽  
Sensitive Species ◽  
South Tyrol ◽  
Traditional Medicinal Plants ◽  
Botanical Knowledge ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Total Diversity

Abstract Background Worldwide mountain regions are recognized as hotspots of ethnopharmacologically relevant species diversity. In South Tyrol (Southern Alps, Italy), and due to the region’s high plant diversity and isolated population, a unique traditional botanical knowledge of medicinal plants has flourished, which traces its history back to prehistoric times. However, changes in rural life and culture may threaten this unique biodiversity and cultural heritage. Our study aims to collect and analyze information on native plants used in traditional folk medicine, focusing on the preservation of botanical and cultural diversity. Methods Data were collected through a review of published material that documents traditionally used medicinal plants of South Tyrol in order to capture the total diversity of plants and their usage. We evaluated different parameters, comprising the ethnobotanicity index (EI), ethnophytonomic index (EPI), relative frequency of citation (RFC), red list status, and regional legislation with regard to the plant species. Results A total of 276 species, including 3 mushrooms and 3 lichens, were identified. These belonged to 72 families, most frequently to the Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Lamiaceae. The most frequently cited species were Hypericum perforatum L., Urtica dioica L., and Plantago lanceolata L. According to 12 ICPC-2 disease categories, the most frequently treated human health symptoms were from the digestive and respiratory systems as well as the skin. A total of 27 species were listed as endangered, of which 16 are not protected and two are now already extinct. Among the 59 predominantly alpine species, 11 species are restricted to the high altitudes of the Alps and may be threatened by global warming. Conclusions Our research revealed that the ethnobotanical richness of South Tyrol is among the highest in Italy and throughout the Alps. Nevertheless, it is evident that biodiversity and traditional knowledge have been heavily eroded. Furthermore, we point out particularly sensitive species that should be reconsidered for stronger protections in legal regulations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document