This dissertation presents a detailed ethnobotanical documentation of the knowledge and use of medicinal plants by the inhabitants of a Tamang hill village in central Nepal. Based on 45 in-depth open-ended qualitative interviews and 115 household surveys, it shows that this knowledge and usage have altered in response to changes in knowledge resulting from increasing links with the outside world. Traditional domestic medical practice is in flux as a result of the introduction of allopathic medicines. The construction of a road to the village has changed agricultural practices and new crops have been introduced for sale. Basic needs which were previously met from the local forests now include commercial goods. Trading in plants is a way of raising the money needed to satisfy them. This can result in unsustainable practices in the utilisation of specific plant resources. The exploitation of plants is also influenced by government officials both at central level where policy is formulated and at district level where it is implemented. Policy and practice are influenced by domestic and foreign traders, and by foreign donor agencies. These processes are illustrated by a case study of sunakhari. This orchid is in high demand in China. The arrival of Chinese traders in the village altered local perceptions of this plant and patterns of behaviour. This study analyses the dynamics of the sunakhari trade and the complexity of its regulation. Corrupt practices in the forestry sector are revealed. The nature and operation of such practices in the exploitation of forest products is examined and its causes are identified. It argues that distribution of ethnobotanical knowledge at the three administrative levels influences the politics of knowledge and the structure of corruption. A map of ethnobotanical knowledge is created making apparent connections and interrelationships between factors underlying the ethnobotanical reality of contemporary Nepal.

It is probable that plants of the genus Sceletium (Mesembryanthemaceae) have been used as masticatories and for the relief of thirst and hunger, to combat fatigue, as medicines, and for social and spiritual purposes by San hunter-gatherers (historically referred to as Bushmen) and Khoi pastoralists (historically referred to as Hottentots) for millennia before the earliest written reports of the uses of these plants by European explorers and settlers. The oral-tradition knowledge of the uses of Sceletium by indigenous peoples has largely been eroded over the last three centuries due to conflicts with settlers, genocidal raids against the San, loss of land, the ravages of introduced diseases, and acculturation. Wild resources of Sceletium have also been severely diminished by over-harvesting, poor veld-management, and possibly also by plant diseases. Sceletium was reviewed almost a decade ago and new results have emerged substantiating some of the traditional uses of one of South Africa’s most coveted botanical assets, and suggesting dietary supplement, phytomedicine and new drug applications. This review aims to collate the fragmented information on past and present uses, the alkaloid chemistry and pharmacological evidence generated on Sceletium.

Taro, Colocasia esculenta, is a unique root crop that serves as an important dietary component in the Pacific islands and in parts of Asia and Africa. Cultivation of taro as a food crop might have ancient origin as is evident from variety of ritualistic use of taro in different parts of the world. Even though it has been postulated that taro was domesticated in the old world, the widespread cultivation of taro calls for a discussion regarding its origin. Wild varieties of C. esculenta are known from regions of Eastern India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula. Other wild varieties have been reported from the Indo-Pacific region and China. The two prominent chromosome number series are 2n=28 and 2n=42. But, chromosome number series 2n= 28, 42, 36, and 48 have been reported from India indicating the centre of highest diversity. A certain amount of controversy exists over classification and nomenclature of this polymorphic species. Primary products of the plants are the corms and cormels. Taro is also used in traditional medicine. It has been known to be nutritionally superior to other starchy crops like potato. This document reviews previous works done on classification and nomenclature of taro, morphology, origin of taro, production and agronomy, and finally ethnobotany of taro across the major taro producing countries. / text

Thesis (M. Arch)--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Title from opening screen (viewed June 14, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington. / Bibliography: l. 564-583.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-168).

The Menispermaceae comprises some 75 genera and 520 species and is widespread in tropical and subtropical countries. Approximately 25 genera with 101 species are found in Africa. The southern African Menispermaceae comprises 7 genera and 13 species, of which one genus (Antizoma) and one species (Cissampelos capensis) are endemic. Field and herbarium surveys succeeded in expanding the knowledge on the geographical distribution of the South African species and a taxonomic synopsis is presented. A key to the 13 species was developed in which they can clearly be distinguished according to leaf morphology. The generic status of Antizoma was always somewhat problematic. Based on morphological features and growth habit, the two species of Antizoma seem to be adaptations to xerophytic conditions and are hardly different to Cissampelos capensis. Cladistic analysis of morphological and alkaloid data indicated strongly that Antizoma is nested within the genus Cissampelos. It is therefore proposed that the genus Antizoma be subsumed within Cissampelos. The family Menispermaceae is highly specialized in its rich diversification of bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids. Because of this richness the family is used worldwide in traditional medicines to treat a wide variety of ailments. From the 13 species Cissampelos capensis [(dawidjies (wortel)] is the best known and most used medicinal plant especially by the Khoisan and other rural people in the western region of South Africa. An ethnobotanical survey had confirmed the known medicinal uses and added several additional anecdotes for this species. Very few medicinal uses were hitherto recorded for the other 12 species and this study now adds several new records. The ethnobotanical survey also indicated that Cissampelos is the most widely and frequently used genus in this family in South Africa, Africa and the rest of the World. Seventeen alkaloids from seven species were isolated, using column chromatography, and identified with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). No new alkaloids were identified during this study. Chemotaxonomic comparisons between species, provenances (different localities) and different plant parts of the same species, were done by using analytical crude alkaloid extracts. Alkaloids in these samples were identified withanalytical thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using pure reference standards obtained from own isolations. Significant differences in the presence and concentration of alkaloids in different plant parts and between populations indicated that alkaloids can be a useful chemotaxonomic tool, but an appropriate sampling strategy is a pre-requisite. Clear alkaloid patterns emerged for the seven species studied. The occurrence of alkaloids in plants was affected by locality as was confirmed by the difference in alkaloid patterns between coastal and inland forms of Cissampelos capensis. Antimalaria and anticancer screening were done on all 13 species and the significant positive results obtained support the ethnobotanical knowledge that some Menispermaceae species are used as antimalarial and anticancer medicines. The biological activities of some of the identified alkaloids also support the rationale behind the medicinal uses of the 13 South African species. Most of them are used as bitter tonics (“amara”) or stimulants. This study therefore succeeded in contributing to the knowledge about the ethnobotany, chemotaxonomy and biological activities of the South African members of this important and interesting family. / Prof. B.E. van Wyk

Plant names in three Pacific Northwest Indian languages -- Haida (Skidegate and Masset dialects), Bella Coola, and Lillooet (Fraser River "dialect") -- were analyzed semantically and taxonomically. A computerized sorting system was developed to handle pertinent information associated with these names and their corresponding plant types. At the present time, each language contains an average of about 150 generic-level plant names, over 50% of which correspond in a one-to- one fashion with botanical species. Some of the names have no meaning other than as plant names, but most are analyzable into smaller units of meaning, reflecting traditional beliefs, utilization, innate characteristics of the plants, or their resemblance to some substance, object, or other plant. Some of the generic terms are obviously borrowed from other languages, and a number of taxa can be found in each language which originally applied to indigenous species and have been expanded in recent times to include cultivated or imported counterparts. Each language contains a few general "life-form" plant names, a number of intermediate taxa -- usually unnamed, and in Haida and Lillooet, a few specific-level terms. None of the groups has an all-inclusive word for "plant". There are also several specialized generic- level terms in each language, and many general names for parts of plants. Cultural significance of plants correlates positively with the degree of specificity of names applied to them, with the number of specialized terms associated with them, and with the lexical retention of their names in diverging dialects. Linguistic origin, floristic diversity, cultural traits, inter-group contact, and especially the recent acculturation of native peoples into "white" society, are believed to be major factors influencing the character of phytotaxonomic systems of the three study groups. Maps of the study areas are provided, and appendixes are included listing all plant names used in the study, their botanical correspondence, and the utilization and cultural significance of the plants involved. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (PhD. (Anthropology)) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / In this study, the multidisciplinary epistemology of ethnobotany is reviewed within the wider context of ethnoecology and indigenous knowledge systems. The major problems derived from this theoretical framework cover aspects of the relationship between cultural groups and their natural environment - particularly the botanical component of the latter. Problems and critical questions about this relationship were investigated in selected areas of the Bushbuckridge district, which are inhabited by a number ofTsonga-Shangana communities. Salient aspects of the natural habitat in the study area are discussed with special reference to the vegetation, climate and soil types. A proper understanding of the culturally-based exploitation of plant resources necessitates a sound knowledge of the culture concerned, including relevan t aspects of its value-system and cosmology. In this review, emphasis is placed on those aspects of culture that are directly concerned with the utilisation of plant resources. The latter include a wide range of economic, technological and medicinal uses. Specimens of 200 plants were collected and identified by the University of Limpopo Herbarium. The uses of every species are described. Systematised tables of plant uses are presented, as well as comparative lists in which selected uses are compared to those of other cultures in which the same species are used. The effects of plant utilisation, as well as indigenous forms of resource management, are also discussed. Recommendations are made on how to counter the process of environmental degradation which is caused by over-exploitation .

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 245-249). Also available on microfiche.