Ethnobotany
The diversity of life on earth
The diversity of life on earth is made up by not only by the diversity of biology, but also the diversity of human cultures and languages. The concept of biocultural diversity highlights that these elements are all deeply connected.
In parallel with biodiversity loss, more than half of over 6000 human languages in the world may be under threat. Especially those spoken by minority and indigenous communities. That means we may be losing half of the social, intellectual and spiritual legacy of humanity.
The cultural knowledge we are losing is described as Traditional Ecological Knowledge. It is complementary to scientific ecological knowledge, and mostly indigenous people and local communities have kept this knowledge alive. Traditional knowledge makes us resilient and adaptable, and it contains the beautiful diversity and expression of human cultures.
I am passionate about the study of ethnobotany since it allows us to to research, document and revive this knowledge.
Traditional knowledge in ecosystem restoration
The degraded miombo woodland of the Shinyanga region of Tanzania was restored with traditional knowledge. Reintroducing the traditional system of enclosures, or ngitili, with the local Sukuma people, restored 350,000 hectares of land.
This example illustrates that indigenous people and local communities often have unique knowledge of the local ecosystem. Most ecosystem restoration initiatives are based only on Western science. But where partnership happened between western and traditional ecological knowledge it has proven to be of great value.
“…reconnecting people and the landscape is as essential as reestablishing proper hydrology or cleaning up contaminants. It is medicine for the earth.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Solutions for social and ecological regeneration
Today, we are faced with many social and ecological crises. Ethnobotany can help us find solutions for todays problems, from dramatic biodiversity loss, to pollution and chronic diseases, which are all resulting from worldviews that are not in harmony with nature.
For example, we can learn about traditional agricultural techniques that are in harmony with nature to address the dramatic loss of fertile soil. We can research so called crop wild relatives, wild ‘cousins’ to our cultivated crops, to reduce our dependency on a small handful of food crops. And, we can continue to find solutions for chronic disease by learning what medicinal plants local and indigenous people have used traditionally, and how.
We can find deeper meaning and healing by understanding traditional plant medicines, and connecting to the worldviews they are embedded in. With ethnobotany, we also have the theory, methods and ethical guidelines to actively support and empower the indigenous cultures alive today.
Enset, the wild African banana relative that could feed millions
Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is a wild African banana relative, domesticated in the Ethiopian Highlands. It has the potential to create food security for millions of people in Africa.
Enset is known as the tree against hunger, since it only takes 15 plants to feed a person for one year, harvest time is flexible, it is easy to store and is generally resilient.
However, as a domesticated crop, enset has not been adopted anywhere else outside of Ethiopia. This means, the plant has great potential to feed more people in Ethiopia, and perhaps the African continent. Research into the potential of enset is the work of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and researchers and farmers in Ethiopia.
Do you want to learn more ways in which ethnobotany can support solutions for the future?
A uniquely multidisciplinary view
Ethnobotany can provide refreshing insights into complex issues, because it brings together multiple disciplines. It includes components of botany and anthropology, as well as ecology, economy, pharmacology and history, among others.
Particularly in the early days of ethnobotany, from its definition in 1895 by Harshberger, the focus was on the description of plants useful to human groups. Plants and their uses were listed, as well as the parts used, application methods and other approaches. But, it has since evolved to explore traditional knowledge and specifically the relationship between plants and people.
Plants have captured the curiosity of anthropologists who want to understand the cultural aspects of human societies. Because plants are important in agriculture, in social and religious activities, as well as the mythology of human societies. As a study, it is often included in the discipline of botany or biology.
Today, some of the core research methods are building on botanical and anthropological field methods, such as collecting and drying plants as herbarium specimens, understanding the taxonomy, or organisation, of the plant world, observation and interview techniques, and community mapping workshops.
The purpose of collecting plants
Botanists and travellers have been collecting plants for over 500 years. Making ‘herbarium specimens’ involves identifying, collecting, pressing and drying plants. It is a practice that is central to ethnobotany.
Once dried, the plants are mounted on sheets of paper, accompanied by a proper description, and collected in a herbarium. Herbarium specimens preserve the characteristics and the form of a plant, and help to identify a plant under discussion. Every plant which has been given a name in Western science was once collected this way.
Did you know that chemicals can be extracted from plants that were collected as much as a century before? The alkaloid ‘harmine’ was extracted from the vine Banisteriopsis caapi in 1969, from a plant collected by Richard Spruce 117 years earlier!
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Learn how the study of ethnobotany helps us understand how people in different cultures relate to plants for their survival, their health, wellbeing and meaning making. Join the next online cohort!
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COMING SOON – Register your interest for an early bird discount! Learn about the value of traditional knowledge in ecosystem restoration, and how to start including this in ecosystem restoration.
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