Ethnobotany

Astronyms in Belarussian folk beliefs.

by Tsimafei Avilin

This article presents some known Belarussian "astronyms" and related beliefs based on folkloric-ethnographic... more This article presents some known Belarussian "astronyms" and related beliefs based on folkloric-ethnographic sources from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries together with material collected by the author and other researchers in the last decade.



Key words: astronyms stars, folk astronomy, Belarussian folk-beliefs, ethnoastronomy, constellations

Etnobotânica altoduriense: o sumagre na cultura e na historia

by Lois Ladra

-LADRA, Lois (2012): "Etnobotânica altoduriense: o sumagre na cultura e na história", Côavisão, n.º 14, pp. 67-78.

Cross-cultural comparisons of medicinal floras and bioprospecting revisited

by Haris Saslis-Lagoudakis

Co-authored with Elizabeth M. Williamson, Vincent Savolainen and Julie A. Hawkins

A short editorial on the different meanings of bioprospecting and the role of ethnobotany in such schemes.  A short editorial on the different meanings of bioprospecting and the role of ethnobotany in such schemes. 

Market Botany: A plant biodiversity lab module

by Chris Martine

Published in Plant Science Bulletin, 2011- 57(2): 61-66.

CALL FOR PUBLICATION

by Gustavo Soldati

CALL FOR PUBLICATION

A késő avar kor növényhasznosítási és tájgazdálkodási potenciáljának értékelése egy dél-alföldi telepen végzett mikro- és makro-archaeobotanikai vizsgálat tükrében - Assessment of potential plant exploitation and land use of the Late Avar period in the light of micro- and macroarchaeobotanical analyses of an archaeological site in Southeastern Hungary

by Ákos Pető

Pető, Á. – Kenéz, Á. – Herendi, O. – Gyulai, F., 2012. A késő avar kor növényhasznosítási és tájgazdálkodási potenciáljának értékelése egy dél-alföldi telepen végzett mikro- és makro-archaeobotanikai vizsgálat tükrében - Assessment of potential plant exploitation and land use of the Late Avar period in the light of micro- and macroarchaeobotanical analyses of an archaeological site in Southeastern Hungary. In: Kreiter, A. – Pető, Á. – Tugya, B. (Szerk./Eds.) Környezet – Ember – Kultúra: Az alkalmazott természettudományok és a régészet párbeszéde - Environment – Human – Culture. Dialogue between applied sciences and archaeology. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, 181-194. (in Hungarian with English abstract)

Ethnobotany in intermedical spaces: the case of the Fulni-ô indians (Northeastern Brazil)

by Gustavo Soldati

Gustavo Taboada Soldati; Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

Impact assessment of the harvest of a medicinal plant (Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan) by a rural semi-arid community (Pernambuco), northeastern Brazil

by Gustavo Soldati

Gustavo Taboada Soldati; Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

Rural communities depend on plant resources, and research is necessar y to evaluate the i mpact of their exploitative... more Rural communities depend on plant resources, and research is necessar y to evaluate the i mpact of their exploitative practices.
This study evaluated t he use ofAnadenanthera colubrina(Vell.) B renan, angico, a tree species widely employed by the r ural
community of Carão ( Per nambuco, B razil) and the impacts of this har vesting practice. Angico has been cited as having 28
uses in five categories, and t he bark is the most used. The medicinal uses are dominant in the community and t he species is collected in four collection zones: home gardens, mountain, pasture and mountain base. In order to evaluate the sustainability
of this practice, the extraction events i n an A. colubrina population were r ecorded in 2008, and t he population s tr ucture was analysed. T he 101 inter views resulted i n i dentification of 28 uses of which the medicinal categor y was most prevalent. The most exploited par ts ofA. colubrinawere the b ark and stem; the main collection zones were home gardens and mountains.
Of the 1040 A. colubrina individuals that we recorded in an area of 2.7 ha, 70 s howed s igns of extraction. Although diameter
classes do not show any i ndividual preference, the population s tr ucture tends towards an i nver ted J model, which s uggests
that it is stable and its viability is not affected by the extraction being car ried out. T he data collected in this study suggest that
maintaining t he cur r ent methods and r ates of exploitation of theA. colubrinapopulation i s s ustainable and allows for t he
per manence of this local resource stock used by t he Carão community. However, projections from our results onA. colubrina
population s tr ucture should be considered carefully because only one population was analysed, over one-time period

Non-Timber Forest Products: An Overview

by Gustavo Soldati

Gustavo Taboada Soldati; Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque

This article will present an overview of different approaches related to the use of non-timber forest products (NTFP),... more This article will present an overview of different approaches related to the use of non-timber forest products (NTFP), focusing  on the
ecological and social domain of their exploitation. We also discuss the role of ethnobotany in the study of these resources

Neandertal plant food consumption and environmental use at Sima de las Palomas, Southeastern Iberia. Paleoanthropology Society, Memphis, TN (Apr 16-17, 2012)

by Robert Power

Robert C. Power1, Michael J. Walker2, Domingo C. Salazar García1,3, Amanda G. Henry1
1Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
2Área de Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia
, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig

The disappearance of the Neanderthal populations of Western Eurasia following the arrival of Modern Humans is poorly... more The disappearance of the Neanderthal populations of Western Eurasia following the arrival of Modern Humans is poorly understood. Some models suggest that the Neanderthal’s narrower diet may have been a competitive disadvantage that was a factor in their demise. Until recently there is limited data available on Neanderthal dietary breadth, particularly about plant foods.

The Neanderthals from southern Europe are less widely-understood than their more northern counterparts, though there is evidence that they persisted late in this area and likely had access to a wider spectrum of dietary resources. However, the vegetal component of diet in Palaeolithic Western Mediterranean is almost entirely unknown.

We analysed the plant microremains (phytoliths and starch grains) preserved in dental calculus and on stone tools in order to assess the vegetal component of the diet at Sima de las Palomas in southeastern Iberia. Our results provide the first direct evidence of plant consumption within a range of niches in Middle Palaeolithic Western Mediterranean, which may influence our understanding of the behavioural variation among Neanderthal groups.

Comparative study of the antimicrobial activity of native and exotic plants from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest selected through an ethnobotanical survey

by Ulysses Albuquerque

Insights into the search for new drugs from traditional knowledge: An ethnobotanical and chemical-ecological perspective

by Ulysses Albuquerque

Citation behavior in popular scientific papers: what is behind obscure citations? The case of ethnobotany

by Ulysses Albuquerque

The domestic use of firewood in rural communities of the Caatinga: How seasonality interferes with patterns of firewood collection

by Ulysses Albuquerque

Quantification in ethnobotanical research : an overview of indices used from 1995 to 2009

by Ulysses Albuquerque

Physico-thermal properties of spinifex resin bio-polymer

by Lynley Wallis

Co-authored with Subrata Mondal, Paul Memmott and Darren Martin; published in Materials Chemistry and Physics 133(2/3):692-699.

The traditional preparation of spinifex resin for use as an adhesive by Indigenous Australians involves the... more The traditional preparation of spinifex resin for use as an adhesive by Indigenous Australians involves the application of limited heat as a source of energy for processing though overheating may cause permanent degradation of the material. This paper investigates the physico-thermal properties of spinifex resin and its traditional manufactured composite materials to manipulate morphologies and properties during handling and performance. The pure resin was found to display a low glass transition temperature (Tg), and the Tg was found to increase when it was heat-treated due to the thermally induced reaction of resin functional groups. The glass transition temperature further increased when soil minerals were incorporated within the resin matrix according to the conventional theory of hindrance of molecular motion of the polymer chains. The pure resin (metabolic compounds) contained some inorganic elements (Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, etc.) because of the micro-nutrients taken up by spinifex plants during their life span. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the pure resin displayed the lowest thermal stability. However, the thermal stability improved for resin samples that had been extracted by solvent and subsequently heat treated. This enhanced thermal stability was most likely due to the thermally induced reaction of resin functional groups to form a crosslinked network structure.

Indigenous and modern biomaterials derived from Triodia (spinifex) grasslands in Australia.

by Lynley Wallis

Co-published with Gamage, H., S. Mondal, L.A. Wallis, P. Memmott, D. Martin, B. Wright and S Schmidt in the 'Australian Journal of Botany' (accepted for publication 14 December 2011).

Plant-derived fibres and resins can provide biomaterials with environmental, health and financial benefits. Australian... more Plant-derived fibres and resins can provide biomaterials with environmental, health and financial benefits. Australian arid zone grasses have not been explored as sources of modern biomaterials including building materials. Triodia grasslands are a dominant vegetation type in the arid and semi-arid regions of Australia covering a third of the continent. Of the 69 identified Triodia species, 26 produce resin from specialised cells in the outer leaf epidermis. In Aboriginal culture, Triodia biomass and resin were valued for their usefulness in cladding shelters and as a hafting agent. Since European settlement, Triodia grasslands have been used for cattle grazing and burning is a common occurrence to improve pasture value and prevent large scale fires. Although Triodia grasslands are relatively stable to fires, more frequent and large scale fires impact on other fire sensitive woody and herbaceous species associated with Triodia and invasion of exotic weeds resulting in localised changes in vegetation structure and composition. The extent and change occurring in Triodia grasslands as a result of altered land use practices, fire regimes and changing climate warrant careful consideration of their future. The extent and change occurring in Triodia grasslands as a result of altered land use practices, fire regimes, and changing climate warrant careful consideration of their future management. Localised harvesting of Triodia grasslands could have environmental benefits and provide much needed biomaterials for desert living. Research is underway to evaluate the material properties of Triodia biomass and resin in the context of Indigenous and western scientific knowledge. Here, we review uses of Triodia and highlight research needs if sustainable harvesting is to be considered.

Use and extraction of medicinal plants by the Fulni-ô indians in northeastern Brazil – implications for local conservation

by Ulysses Albuquerque

The use of visual stimuli in the recognition of plants from anthropogenic zones: evaluation of the checklist-interview method

by Ulysses Albuquerque

The use of visual stimuli in the recognition of plants from anthropogenic zones: evaluation of the checklist-interview method

by Ulysses Albuquerque