native american ethnobotany

[shapeshifter]

this book is bound to be a great resouce for students of the uses of our native plants.


click the picture for a link to the publisher's site

the native american ethnobotany database is the online resource of this awesome undertaking.

enjoy!

[judih]

shapeshifter, welcome to spiritplants.
Have you read the book?
Could you give us a few words about content and style?
The publisher's page link you've given is okay, but i'd like more.

[shapeshifter]

thank you for the warm welcome judih,

having just recently purchased this book i have found that it seems more of a compendium of individual topics compiled from several sources covering the varied applications from as many tribes as have been on record of having used these plants. uses include medicinal, dietary, fiber (cloth, rope), mystical, other (toys, games), etc. so it covers quite a broad scope from different approaches. the print project started in the early 70's in analog (lists) and went to the digital form just when computers started to become more available to the researchers. the book has been in print in different forms at some time or another so i would consider it a work in progress. the main section refers to the plants by their scientific names without pictures so it is pretty dry and difficult to relate to. it was only after cross referencing the info with the database (which does contain pictures btw) that made it a bit more manageable. people may find that the online database might be a useful resource on its own. try typing "hallucinogen" in the search window... you'll see what i mean. it really seems more like a gift from some long lost ancestor to the indigenous people of today.

[judih]

thanks!
here's the link to the database:

//http://herb.umd.umich.edu/

i just typed in 'sage' and came up with uses that recur over and over in many different tribes.
(internally: stomach ailments, externally: treatment for rheumatism, environmental: removing evil forces, and so on)

interesting.
The use of the latin name and popular name in English helps me. It's also good to check for universality in application of plants, as in Israel, we have many forms of 'sage' and her cousins. Uses have been passed down from ancestors from all over the globe as well as the local variations as used by Bedouin.

It sounds like a good volume and, indeed, a gift to be passed down to our descendants.

[shapeshifter]

sage... quite a number of results! it's so nice to experience things through another person's view. so much to learn from this new tool.

if you want a real funny one... check out the first result for cannabis.

[Anonymous]

Looks good, I might get this one!

[DrYRHead]

It is nice to see such info being compiled about these plants. Many tribal elders are complaining that too few young people want to study these things, or even their ancestral languages and such. If the tribes are not careful much of the knowledge of their elders will be lost.