Table of Contents

Cultural uses of Plants: A Guide to Learning about Ethnobotany

• Contents 6
• Preface 8
• Unit 1 - Introduction to Ethnobotany 12
• • What Is Ethnobotany? 12
  • Why Are Plants Critical to Our Lives? 12
  • Plants as the Basis for Civilization 14
  • Chronology of Some Milestones in Plant Science 17
  • Modern-Day Ethnobotany 19
  • The Approach of This Book 22
  • Questions for Thought 23
  • Activities: Supermarket Botany 24
  • Supermarket Gardening 25
• Unit 2 - Choosing a Plant to Study: Interviews and Background Research 26
• • Introduction 26
  • "The Ethnobotanical Interview: Learning about Plants from Our Families, Friends, and Neighbors" 26
  • Background Research 29
  • Writing a Research Paper on Your Plant 31
  • Questions for Thought 34
  • Activity: The Ethnobotanical Interview Form 35
  • Checklist of Activities for Report 39
• Unit 3 - How to Preserve, Represent, and Reproduce Your Plant 40
• • Introduction 40
  • Plant Conservation 40
  • Plant Identification 43
  • Representing Your Plant in Pictures 44
  • Plant Propagation 45
  • Questions for Thought 47
  • Activities: Make an Herbarium Specimen of Your Plant 48
  • Create a Botanical Illustration 50
  • Photograph Your Plant 51
  • Propagate Your Plant 52
  • Preserve Your Plant's Essence for Later use in Tests 55
• Unit 4 - Testing the Nutritional Properties of Your Plant 58
• • Introduction 58
  • The Essential Nutrients in Plant Foods 58
  • Questions for Thought 64
  • Activities: Comparing Food Labels 66
  • Testing Your Plant for Selected Nutrients 68
  • Summary of the Nutrition Experiments 75
• Unit 5 - Testing the Medicinal Properties of Your Plant 76
• • Plants as Medicine 76
  • Infectious Disease 77
  • Noninfectious Disease 81
  • How Scientists Analyze New Drugs in the Lab 82
  • Questions for Thought 85
  • Activities: Assessing Potential Medicinal Properties of Your Plant 86
  • Paper Chromatography Test 98
  • Gel Filtration Chromatography Test 100
  • Summary of the Medicinal Experiments 102
• Unit 6 - TestingYour Plant for Other Useful Properties 106
• • Products from Plant Fibers 106
  • Applications for Gardening and Agriculture 108
  • Plants as a Source of Animal Feed 111
  • Plants as Ornamentals 112
  • Plant Dyes 112
  • Plants for Perfumes and Fragrances 114
  • Questions for Thought 115
  • Activities: Can Your Plant Be Used to Make Paper? 116
  • Can Your Plant Be Used for Cordage or Construction? 118
  • Can Your Plant Be Used to Make an Insecticide? 119
  • Does Your Plant Extract Stimulate Growth in Other Plants? 121
  • What Is the pH of Your Plant Extract? 123
  • Could Your Plant Be a Source of Feed for Animals? 125
  • Could Your Plant Be Used in Fresh Floral Arrangements? 126
  • Can Your Plant Make a Colorful Dye? 129
  • Does Your Plant Produce a Pleasant-Smelling Fragrance? 130
• Unit 7 - Designing Your Own Experiment 134
• • Introduction 134
  • The Importance of Safety and Ethics in Experimental Design 134
  • Planning Your Experiment 138
  • The Experimental Design 140
  • Data Analysis and Graphing 143
  • Results and Conclusion 148
  • Questions for Thought 150
  • Checklist of Activities for Your Experiment 151
• Unit 8 - Ecological and Economic Concerns in Ethnobotany 152
• • The Importance of Plant Diversity 152
  • The Value of Nature 155
  • The Role of Ethnobotany in Conservation and Development 155
  • Extinction Is Not a Temporary Condition 157
  • Questions for Thought 158
  • Activities: Create a Study Plot and Map It 159
  • Calculate the Abundance of Plant Life in Your Study Plot 162
  • Write a Journal and Ask Questions about Organisms in Your Study Plot 163
  • Survey Local People about the Marketability of Plants in Your Study Plot 164
  • Determine the Market Value of the Plants in Your Study Plot 166
• Unit 9 - Supplemental Activities 168
• • Ways to Celebrate and Share What You've Learned 168
  • Plant a Garden 169
  • "Making the World a Better Place: Careers Related to Plants, People, and the Environment" 170
  • Questions for Thought 175
  • Activities: Creating Plant-Based Gifts 176
• Appendix A - Sources and Resources 178
• • Books 178
  • "Journals, Magazines, and Newsletters" 186
  • Laboratory and Biological Supplies 187
  • Organizations 188
  • Web Sites 189
• Appendix B - Fifty-four Useful and Interesting Plants 196
• • Africa 196
  • Central America and the Caribbean 197
  • North America 197
  • South America 198
  • "South East Asia, Australia, and South Pacific" 199
  • China and Japan 199
  • Europe 200
  • India 201
  • Mediterranean 201
  • Unusual or Everywhere 202
• Glossary 204
• Index 218
• Teacher's Handbook Contents 226
• About Cultural Uses of Plants and the National Science Education Standards 227
• Answers to Questions for Thought 232
• Reproducible Unit Tests (to be photocopied at 150%) 243
• Answers to Unit Tests 252