/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

7,836 Subscribers

8

Traditional Kratom Use

Kratom has become popular in the West in the past 10 years. I would like to read more about how kratom was used traditionally in Thai or any other cultures in which it was used.

Does anyone know of any reputable books on the subject?

As he was sort of ethnobotanist/poet, I usually refer to Dale Pendell's Pharmako trilogy for some information but I wanted to learn more.

Thanks in advance!

2 Comments
2024/11/09
13:45 UTC

9

Jobs in ethnobotany?

Hi all, I'm currently a master's student in biocultural anthropology, and I'm particularly interested in ethnobotany. My bachelor's is in neuroscience, so I have a background in stem, but not botany specifically. I'm thinking about career options and wondering: are there are any jobs in ethnobotany that don't require a PhD? Has anyone had luck doing research/getting funding without a PhD?

2 Comments
2024/11/08
01:05 UTC

10

What are some “Ethnobotanical Mysteries”?

What are some areas in ethnobotany where we have a limited amount of information, and we are trying to fill in the blanks?

3 Comments
2024/10/28
04:56 UTC

178

No title needed.

9 Comments
2024/10/24
17:57 UTC

35

Ethnobotanical Study of Mongolian Plants

https://ethnoagriculture.com/ethnobotanical-study-of-mongolian-wild-vegetables-nutritional-medicinal-and-cultural-significance/

Hi everyone, I just made a new post. I used the feedback I got last time I posted on here and looking to hear back on more ways to improve!

3 Comments
2024/10/22
19:12 UTC

3

Mid-Atlantic US nook recommendations

Hi, looking for ethnobotany books specific to the mid-atlantoc region in the US!

0 Comments
2024/10/04
19:24 UTC

5 Comments
2024/10/01
01:09 UTC

29

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?

43 Comments
2024/09/20
21:59 UTC

64

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

7

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

0

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

10

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

1

What happened to bouncing bear botanicals

0 Comments
2024/04/03
07:35 UTC

9

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

6

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

6

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

3

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

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