In the simplest of terms ethnobotany is the relationship between plants and people.
And we can see this relationship around us all the time. Ethnobotany offers insight into our own culture and cultures around the world. Often thought of as addressing the past, the way people used to use the plants in their environment, ethnobotany is very much alive and thrives in our modern world. It shows us just how ubiquitous plants are in our lives.So whether you are using plants for food, clothing, as construction material, or just to admire the beauty and resilience of our Sonoran Desert plants – you are engaging in ethnobotany. When you are enjoying the artistry behind a Tohono O’odham basket, with contrasting light yucca fibers and dark devil’s claw fibers. Or enjoying a Sonoran desert inspired meal of mesquite crackers, nopalitos salad, I’itoi onions, and stewed tepary beans seasoned with spicy chiltepin, you are practicing ethnobotany.Join us this week to explore our world through an ethnobotanical lens and witness how plants nourish our bodies and souls.
As we explore ethnobotany together this week. Feel free to share what you do with marketing@tohonochul.org or sspikes@tohonochul.org. Volunteers and docents, you can share to our Tohono Chul Volunteers and Docents Facebook group directly too!
