/r/Ethnobotany

Photograph via snooOG

Ethnobotany is often thought of as the study of how humans (particularly Indigenous or pre-industrial humans) have used plants. r/ethnobotany is a place to discuss information relating to the broader topic of plant use by humans, with a focus on sustainable uses. These uses include food, medicine, drugs, habitat, ecopsychology, and many others. Join us to learn more about how you can use plants more in your life!

Humans have been dependent on plants since long before we were even a species. The very atmosphere we breath is the product of billions of years of photosynthesis. There are a multitude of sustainable ways for us to use plants, many of which are often overlooked. This subreddit is a place to post and discuss topics related to human usage of plants, especially sustainable uses.

Check out the following related subreddits!

r/permaculture

r/botany

r/PhysicGarden

r/tea

r/woodcarving

r/Rainforest

r/conservation

r/Restoration_Ecology

Know of another related subreddit? Please contact the mods!

/r/Ethnobotany

7,764 Subscribers

5 Comments
2024/10/01
01:09 UTC

30

Exploring Hidden Psychoactive Plants – Your Ideas Needed!

Hello fellow botanists,

As part of my PhD research, I have the opportunity to explore lesser-known psychoactive plants, focusing on isolating secondary metabolites and investigating their mechanisms of action. I am working on a long list of plants with mainly only ethnobotanical documentation, and I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Are there any particular plants you're curious about in terms of the compounds they contain?

42 Comments
2024/09/20
21:59 UTC

57

My great grandma cutting the spines and glochids off some nopales to then cook and prepare with tacos back in the ‘90s

1 Comment
2024/09/11
17:28 UTC

2

How do you test for metal concentration in vinegar solution?

0 Comments
2024/09/09
17:47 UTC

6

Spilanthes acmella

❤️💛💚

5 Comments
2024/09/09
04:47 UTC

3

[TROPICS] Which plants (or plant parts) are best for anti-mosquito smoke?

1 Comment
2024/09/05
02:20 UTC

5

Do boobie cacti or unicorn cacti contain any active alkaloids?

Do boobie cacti or unicorn cacti contain any active alkaloids? Always around, ExitDry

0 Comments
2024/08/28
18:22 UTC

1

What is the best treatment for internal hemorrhoids

0 Comments
2024/08/24
09:31 UTC

1

What is the jail sentence for growing coca in Florida?

I am wondering what the charge would be and how much jail time someone would get if arrested for having a single, very small coca tree in Florida, just curious. If sold, would the charges escalate? Do they weigh the plant,m to determine anything, or is it just a straight forward law?

33 Comments
2024/06/15
01:45 UTC

21

Any guides for beginners in ethnobotany?

I want to make sense of the forest. I mean if I knew what I’m looking at would be far more interesting that just calling them trees. Thanks

13 Comments
2024/06/13
16:06 UTC

9

Crash course in ethnobotany?

Hi all, I am notably not an ethnobotanist nor do I know much about the field beyond the very basic “plants can be used for food and medicine and there is a strong indigenous subtext” research that a quick google search can give. I am however writing a story where my main character is an ethnobotanist (fits nicely within the plot and character origins) and said character is being asked to do some questionably ethical testing on other characters while performing their own research - so! What would the most important and most interesting things be that I should know about and be able to include? The story takes place in a fictional universe so there aren’t really too many laws to abide by. Thanks!

7 Comments
2024/04/17
04:02 UTC

0

What happened to bouncing bear botanicals

0 Comments
2024/04/03
07:35 UTC

8

What's your favorite book?

What's your favorite ethnobotany book ,thesis, or dissertation. I'm especially interested in the relationship between indigenous people and plants in the Western United States. Thanks in advance!

8 Comments
2024/04/01
20:28 UTC

7

Anyone here from Switzerland generally interested in "ethnobotanical plants" / up for a trade?

[Import/export of plants is difficult here, as Switzerland is not part of the EU]

I know it is unlikely to find someone here as it is such a small country, but I thought it's worth a try 🤞

4 Comments
2024/03/19
17:31 UTC

7

Ethnobotany book recs

Looking for books on Native American herbal medicine. Thank you!

4 Comments
2024/03/12
03:07 UTC

19

How can it be that cocaine has been detected in Egyptian mummies when the coca bush only grows in South America?

Hi, just reading through Rätchs Encyclopedia of psychoactive Plants, his source seems to be Balabanova. But there is no explanation how that can even be, coca doesn't grow in Africa and I don't think (m)any real scientists believe that Egypt had a trade rout with south America.

8 Comments
2024/02/20
20:50 UTC

9

Ethnobotany degree going under

I just recently graduated from the University of Kent with my MSc in Ethnobotany... but I've heard that sadly the Department of Anthropology (that houses the program) is dissolving.

Here is a petition currently going around to hopefully safe the department and program, but it isn't looking good based on the responses my peers and I have been getting from the university. I loved the program and it is so sad to see that the only program in the English-speaking world is disappearing.

0 Comments
2024/02/12
00:06 UTC

4

Plants & Oral Microbiome?

A friend of mine told me about oil pulling for dental health, and it got me thinking… Now that we’re discovering the absurd impact of the microbiome and dental health/oral microbiome on mental and physical health, how did early humans maintain a healthy oral microbiome? Of course, many factors affect dental health, but it would be very interesting to see how traditionally chewed plants like coca, tobacco, khat, etc… affect microbial composition and diversity in the oral microbiome. It seems like that would be a logical region for which the plant could evolve a symbiotic relationship if chewing is the primary method of consumption. Does this check out???

3 Comments
2024/02/07
13:06 UTC

2

"Using a Mixed Methods Approach to Investigate Land Use History and Herbaceous Plant Diversity in Southern Appalachia"

0 Comments
2024/02/03
19:30 UTC

1

Is herbalistics a safe place to buy ethnogenic plants?

6 Comments
2024/01/27
04:10 UTC

7

Ethnography Ideas

I’m an Oxford Biology student, and i’m trying to find a focus to write a botanical ethnography about a community or tradition somewhere.

Any ideas?

9 Comments
2024/01/05
11:51 UTC

2

Canadian Discord

Is there any Ethnobotany canadian discord... or any interest in one?

0 Comments
2023/12/29
03:54 UTC

3

Psychedelics

5 Comments
2023/12/11
20:29 UTC

10

Other regional examples of companion planting like the Three Sisters technique?

I'm interested in examples of companion planting using native species for food systems and ecological restoration. The Three Sisters method of growing corn, beans, and squash together is an example from indigenous North America. Are there other examples (from any region) of native plants that can be grown together for mutual benefit? What about sea vegetables in coastal settings? Thank you!

5 Comments
2023/11/26
03:06 UTC

3

Could you nominate building a seed vault in Ireland to the Reddit CommunityFunds programme?

Hi, I'm looking for Mods of Environmental Groups who would be interested in nominating a charity project for the Reddit CommunityFunds programme, to help build a Seed Vault for Ireland.

As a volunteer trustee of the charity, True Harvest Seeds, I'm not eligible to nominate it myself, but I posted the idea to the CommunityFunds subreddit and an Admin suggested I ask around for Mods to make the nomination.

This is a link to the Reddit post and Admins reply with link to the nomination form: https://www.reddit.com/r/CommunityFunds/comments/17h8d6p/funding_for_irelands_seedbank/

If you're an Environmental Mod or know one who might be interested, please get in touch.

0 Comments
2023/11/23
14:17 UTC

4

Looking for a few volunteers to interview for a college paper on Peyote

Hello! I am a senior anthropology student at California State University Northridge (CSUN). I am looking for a few people who use/have used peyote for their health and/or religious/spiritual purposes as my final paper for my anthropology seminar class on how and why people use peyote.

Your personal information will not be included in my paper and will be kept confidential. I will only ask basic demographic questions to use for my paper. If you are comfortable, I have an interview on Zoom and will use audio transcripts during our time to help me transcribe and remember our interview. You may have your video on or off. If you prefer not to use Zoom, I can either send the questions to you through email or as a message through Reddit.

If you would like to be interviewed, please send me a message.

0 Comments
2023/11/20
17:32 UTC

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