Wisdom of ethnobotany useful in advancing technology to benefit humanity

Ethnobotany is a multidisciplinary field that combines botany, history and ethnology (the study of different human groups and how they interact). It investigates the traditional knowledge and customs of people in regard to plants and their many uses. It takes the study of botany further by including the human element, how the plants are grown and what are its practical uses. Ethnobotany is important in areas of environmental conservation, pharmaceutical development, socioeconomic development, and documentation of local customs just to name a few.

Cane (Arundinaria species) was one of the most important plants for Native Americans in the Southeast, providing shelter, food, medicine, tools, weapons, musical instruments and livestock forage. Dense stands of cane are known as canebrakes, and once made up large ecosystems from Maryland to Texas. Canebrakes have nearly disappeared due to over-grazing by livestock, fire suppression and land clearing, and it is now considered a critically endangered ecosystem. Cane is also a critical habitat for several animal species, and its loss was likely a contributing factor to the presumed extinction of the Bachman’s warbler, last seen in 1988.

Because cane was once so prolific and grew rapidly, Native Americans found it an excellent raw material for all types of dwellings. Cane has a high load-bearing capacity, is water resistant, and is lightweight. These dwellings could persist up to 20 years without needing repair. Cane was even used to construct defensive fortifications and was highly effective in deflecting projectiles as well as concealing movement. Experimentation in World War II found it was superior in some instances to concrete in deflecting bullets and shrapnel because it did not shatter.

Similar to the lost habitat of cane, longleaf pines (Pinus palustris) once made up the largest ecosystem in North America at approximately 90 million acres. Today, there are less than 5 million acres. Longleaf pine forests include many rare plant and animal species, some of which are only found there. The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, eastern indigo snake and gopher tortoise all call longleaf pine ecosystems home.

Native Americans utilized the longleaf pine in several ways, including the crafting of coiled pine straw baskets, resin as sealer for hides, logs for timber and kindling, and needles and bark for medicinal purposes. Longleaf pines need fire to thrive, and the Native Americans managed these ecosystems by setting fires every two to four years. These managed ecosystems also had an abundance of wildlife, which made it easier to hunt. Because longleaf pines are long lived, the Cherokee believed they have eternal lives, and thus pine was utilized to purify the home where a death occurred by burning branches in a cooking vessel.

Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is the only known plant, indigenous to North America, which contains caffeine. It is a close relative of the popular yerba mate, but unfortunately is rarely consumed in modern times, despite being similar in taste and locally obtained. The botanical name is a misnomer, once thought to induce vomiting due to its use in Native American purging ceremonies. Early settlers who witnessed these ceremonies thought the yaupon holly was to blame, but the ceremonial beverage was a concoction of several ingredients. The beverage was so widely consumed that researchers have recently determined it made its way as far west as the lost city of Cahokia near present day St. Louis, far outside of its native range.

As our natural resources decline so does biodiversity, and our traditional knowledge of plants. Medicinal plant knowledge is particularly vulnerable to loss with globalization. While there are advantages and conveniences to modern day medicines and goods, many of us have lost a connection to our natural world. Some of our ancestors’ use of native plants was accumulated over thousands of years, and if ethnobotanists can record this knowledge before it is too late, we could combine this wisdom with current technology benefiting humanity.

Michelle Baudanza is the Curator of Herbaceous Plants at Norfolk Botanical Garden

Wild Green Yonder is a recurring monthly feature from the staff of the Norfolk Botanical Garden.