The subject provides general information on tropical and subtropical plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. It allows students to be acquainted with the principles and methodology of ethnobotanical practice, including preservation, recovery and diffusion of local knowledge and wisdom, conservation of biological diversity, and identification and development of new economic products. A special emphasis is put on the documentation of the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for foods and medicines.
The course is structured into six hours of theoretical lectures, six hours of seminars (students will be able to interact with the lecturer and other classmates of the subject) and self-study of relevant literature. All lectures and seminars will be conducted through MS Teams and recorded, and available to students through Microsoft Stream and Moodle (together with presentations and recommended study literature).
Lectures:
- Definitions, categorization, history and current status of economic botany.
- Collecting and recording cultural data related to traditional use of plants.
- Collection, processing and identification of plant materials.
- Ethnobotanical inventory and analysis of local markets.
- Conservation and environmental guidelines related to collection and transportation of plant samples.
- Guidelines for access and sharing of benefits arising from utilization of ethnobotanical knowledge.
Seminars:
- Sources of ethnobotanical information.
- Sociological interview techniques and linguistic ethnobotany practice.
- Collection and herbarium voucher specimen processing.
- Taxonomical identification and authentication of plant species.
- Statistical analysis of ethnobotanical data.
- Lessons learned from field research. Exam info.
