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Tropical Ethnobotany

Instructor:

Dr. Carlos R. Ramirez
Associate Professor of Botany
Department of Biology
Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT 06515
Tel. (203) 392-6217
Fax (203) 392-5364
E-mail: ramirezc1southernct.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION

Tropical ethnobotany introduces graduate students and advanced undergraduates to the diverse world of tropical vegetation its use by traditional cultures.  The first part of the course covers tropical botany, beginning with abiotic factors that influence tropical plants such as climate and soils.  The focus then turns to the diversity, taxonomy, ecological processes, and adaptations of tropical vegetation.  The second part of the course focuses on the relationship of plants and people in tropical forests, including indigenous plant use and resource management.   Lectures will provide an introduction to each topic but much of the time will be devoted to field exercises.  The course emphasizes development of appropriate methodologies for conducting ethnobotanical research.  In a series of group projects, students will formulate research questions and design experiments to answer them.  Each student will also design an individual research project that will be completed by the end of the course.

Suggested Readings

  • Schultes, R. E. and S. von Reis, Editors. Ethnobotany, Evolution of a Discipline. Timber Press. Portland, OR.
  • Whitmore, T. C. 1999. An introduction to Tropical Rain Forests. Oxford University Press.
  • Alexiades, M., N. 1996. Editor. Selected Guidelines for Ethnobotanical research: A Field Manual. The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY.
  • Lentz, D. and C. R. Ramirez-Sosa. 2003. Ceren plant resources and diversity. Pages 33-42 in Sheets, P. Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Village of Central America. University of Texas Press. Austin, TX.
  • Plotkin, M.J. 1995. The importance of ethnobotany for tropical forest conservation. Pages 147-156. In Schultes, R. E. and S. von Reis, Editors. Ethnobotany, Evolution of a Discipline. Timber Press. Portland, OR.
  • Terborgh, J. 1992. Diversity and the Tropical Rain Forest. Scientific American Library. New York, NY. Pages 1-11 and 74-103.
Group Projects

All students participate in several group projects, which introduce basic field techniques and research methods. With help from the faculty, groups formulate a research question, design field methods, and collect data. Students then will analyze the results and present their findings in oral presentations and written reports.

Individual Projects

Each student will design and complete an individual research project. Each will be evaluated on the bases of scientific merit, feasibility, experimental design, rsults, and analysis. The final week of the course is dedicated to individual projects. Students will present their projects in both oral and written formats.

Examples of Potential Research Projects (individual or group projects)

  • a) Frei, B., O. Sticher, and M. Heinrich. 2000. Zapotec and Mixtec use of tropical habitats for securing medicinal plants in Mexico, Economic Botany 54(1): 72-81.
  • b) Calderon, A. I., C. K. Angerhofer, J. M. Pezzuto, N. R. Farnsworth, R. Foster, R. Gupta, and D. D. Soejarto. 2000. Forest plots as a tool to demonstrate the pharmaceutical potential of plants in a tropical forest on Panama. Economic Botany 54(3): 278-294.
  • c) Dahdouh-Guebas, F., C. Mathenge, J. G. Kairo, and N. Koedam. 2000. Utilization of mangrove wood products around Mida Creek (Kenya) amongst subsistence and commercial users. Economic Botany 54(4): 513-527.
  • d) Gragson, T. L. 1997. The use of underground plant organs and its relation to habitat selection among the Pumé Indians of Venezuela. Economic Botany 51(4): 377-384.
  • e) Ogle, B. M., H. T. Tuyet, H. N. Duyet, and N. X. Dung. 2003. Food, feed, or medicine: the multiple functions of edible wild plants in Vietnam. Economic Botany 57(1): 103-107.
  • f) Corlett, J. L., E. A. Dean, and L. E. Grivetti. 2003. Botanical diversity in an urban setting. Economic Botany 57(30; 365-379.
  • g) Fu, Y., H. Guo, A. Cheng, Y. Cui, and C. Padoch. 2003. Relocating plants from Swidden fallows to gardens in Southwestern China. Economic Botany 57(3): 389-402.
  • h) Van den Eyden, V., E. Cueva, and O. Cabrera. 2003. Wild foods from Southern Ecuador. Economic Botany 57(4): 576-603.
  • i) Cahill, J. P. 2003. Ethnobotany of Chia, Salvia hispanica L. (Lamiaceae). Economic Botany 57(4): 604-618.y
  • j) Velasquez Runk, J. 2002. Wouman and Embera use and management of the fiber palm Astrocaryum standelayanum (Aracaceae) for Basketry in Eastern Panama. Economic Botany 55(1): 72-82.

The following publications are available for consultation in the Field Station

  1. Henderson, A., G. Galeano, and R. Bernal. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of Americas. Princeton University. Princeton, NJ.
  2. Terborgh, J. 1992. Diversity and the Rain Forest. Scientific American Library. New York, NY.
  3. Croat, T. B. Flora of Barro Colorado Island. 1978. Stanford University Press. Stanford, CA.
  4. Maas, P. J. M. and L. Y. Th. Westra 1993. Neotropical Plant Families. Koeltz Scientific Books. Germany/USA.
  5. Whitmore, T. C. 1998. An Introduction to Tropical Rain Forests. Second edition. Oxford University Press. Oxford, England.
  6. Luna, L. E. and P. Amaringo. 1991. Ayahuasca Visions: the Religion Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman. North Atlantic Books. Berkeley, CA.
  7. Heywood, V. H. 1993. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press. New York, NY.

Grading

Students should arrange credit for the course through their home institutions. Grades will be based on two written exams (10% each), one field practical exam (30%), group project participation (25 %) and an individual project (25%).

Lectures and Field Schedule

Lecture Schedule & Readings

Field Work

Day

    

1.

Orientation and course description 

General observations of a tropical forest

2.

Definition and history of ethnobotany

Mangroves and coastal vegetation

3.

Classification of tropical forests

Sp. diversity, distribution and patterns

4.

Old growth and secondary forests

Stages of forest regeneration

5.

Soils and nutrient cycling

Sampling soils and nutrients

6.

Developing ethnobotanical projects I

Plant sampling and processing I

7.

Developing ethnobotanical projects II

Plant sampling and processing II

8.

Common tropical plant families I

Plant families I

9.

Common tropical plant families II

Plant families II

10.

Reading and free time

Review plant families

11.

Tropical plant morphology and life forms 

Forest gaps and life forms

12.

Interview techniques

Practical Exam

13.

Ethical issues in ethnobotany

Practicing interviewing

14.

Reading and free time

Written exam I

15.

Tropical agriculture and agroforestry

Diversity of gardens

16.

Non-timber products extraction

Extractive reserves

17.

Mid-course trip

Mid-course trip

18.

Mid-course trip

Mid-course trip

19.

Mid-course trip

Mid-course trip

20.

Medicinal plants

Field characteristics of medicinal plants

21.

Hallucinogenic plants

The Doctrine of Signatures

22.

Market ethnobotany

Processing market samples

23.

Paleoethnobotany

In search of ancient cultures

24.

Ethnobotany and Tropical conservation

Written exam II

25.

Group projects

Group project fieldwork

26.

Individual projects

Individual fieldwork project

27.

Project presentations

Course wrap-up

28.

Departures

Departures