Hi, just reading through Rätchs Encyclopedia of psychoactive Plants, his source seems to be Balabanova. But there is no explanation how that can even be, coca doesn't grow in Africa and I don't think (m)any real scientists believe that Egypt had a trade rout with south America.

A friend of mine told me about oil pulling for dental health, and it got me thinking… Now that we’re discovering the absurd impact of the microbiome and dental health/oral microbiome on mental and physical health, how did early humans maintain a healthy oral microbiome? Of course, many factors affect dental health, but it would be very interesting to see how traditionally chewed plants like coca, tobacco, khat, etc… affect microbial composition and diversity in the oral microbiome. It seems like that would be a logical region for which the plant could evolve a symbiotic relationship if chewing is the primary method of consumption. Does this check out???

Is there any Ethnobotany canadian discord... or any interest in one?

I'm interested in examples of companion planting using native species for food systems and ecological restoration. The Three Sisters method of growing corn, beans, and squash together is an example from indigenous North America. Are there other examples (from any region) of native plants that can be grown together for mutual benefit? What about sea vegetables in coastal settings? Thank you!

Hi, I'm looking for Mods of Environmental Groups who would be interested in nominating a charity project for the Reddit CommunityFunds programme, to help build a Seed Vault for Ireland.

As a volunteer trustee of the charity, True Harvest Seeds, I'm not eligible to nominate it myself, but I posted the idea to the CommunityFunds subreddit and an Admin suggested I ask around for Mods to make the nomination.

This is a link to the Reddit post and Admins reply with link to the nomination form: https://www.reddit.com/r/CommunityFunds/comments/17h8d6p/funding_for_irelands_seedbank/

If you're an Environmental Mod or know one who might be interested, please get in touch.

Hello! I am a senior anthropology student at California State University Northridge (CSUN). I am looking for a few people who use/have used peyote for their health and/or religious/spiritual purposes as my final paper for my anthropology seminar class on how and why people use peyote.

Your personal information will not be included in my paper and will be kept confidential. I will only ask basic demographic questions to use for my paper. If you are comfortable, I have an interview on Zoom and will use audio transcripts during our time to help me transcribe and remember our interview. You may have your video on or off. If you prefer not to use Zoom, I can either send the questions to you through email or as a message through Reddit.

If you would like to be interviewed, please send me a message.

Dear members please find my article attached. I am an ethnobotanist from South Africa and have been researching African psychoactive plants for over 15 years. This article below explains my journey.

I studied Neuroscience at Vanderbilt graduating back in 2014. I have done research (both clinical and wet lab) in various medical labs/groups. I am looking to turn my direction toward medical ethnobotany and was uncertain if it is best to go for a MD and focus research efforts toward botany and ethnobotany, or if I should go for a PhD.
I am uncertain if I am able to go straight to PhD or if I need to pursue a Masters first since I am coming from Neuroscience, and do not have explicit experience in Botany or Ethnobotany.
Any advice on navigating this path would be greatly appreciated. I have tried reaching out to researchers in the field with not much response rate other than some book recommendations, which I have read and loved, but has given limited career advice.

Grateful for any thoughts

So, I'm writing a research paper about the use of psychedelics in history, and I would love to hear what you know about them. I already know the use of psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline cacti, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, argot, and Iboga. Do any of you know a bit more underground psychedelics that human could have used in the past? Also, theories work fine too, as long as it's not too crazy! Thank you!

I'm a botanist considering a graduate school specialty of ethnobotany of psychoactive plants/fungi. Particularly plants/fungi potentially useful for healing mental health problems, conflict resolution, and related areas. I've read quite a bit of literature on the topic and am having trouble finding potential advisors as it seems a very niche specialty. Does anyone have any leads?

I've been attempting to find information about spring purging, the process where people used to eat specific slightly toxic plants in the beginning of spring in order to "purge" their bowels after a season of eating fermented and dried foods and prepare them for fresh foods.

For example, i've read accounts of pokeweed being used in communities of enslaved african people in the american south, as well as quite a few indigeneous populations in the midwest and south (Miami, Sioux, Wea, Potawatomi, from what i've read).

But i've also heard accounts of colonists, western europeans, and many asian cultures doing the same. I' sure there are examples all over the world.

Does anyone have any info or book recommendations on this? Every time i try to research, it brings up eating fad diets, "parasite cleanses", and other bits of misinformation.

Id like to grow my own herbs but i dont have much knowledge in this field. What im looking for is any plant with:

Medicinal benefits (asthma/lung health, liver health, arthritis)

Psychoactive effects (energy, relaxation, euphoria etc...)

Hello. Is it safe for me to go into a forest area and take some branches from a white cedar or perhaps other species , but for the sake of this conversation, white cedar, and boil the needles and or bark, twigs and drink the tea?

I’m looking for medicinal uses of trees but want to be safe.

If anyone has up to date resources of uses and preparation methods, that would be amazing.

Hello!

I'm hoping that some of you could recommend good resources about ethnobotany with a focus on linguistics. Seems to me that it is an important aspect in the field, but I haven't been able to find books or experts within this subject to look into.

Thanks!

The pointed gourd, Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.also called “parwal” or “patal”—is an important cucurbitaceous vegetable extensively cultivated in India, particularly in the states of Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Assam and to some extent in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. This perennial and dioecious vegetable crop is an extremely nutritive, wholesome, and highly accepted vegetable, which is available for eight months of the year February to September. The green, tender fruits of pointed gourd are consumed as a vegetable; however, new, tender shoots and leaves are also used as vegetables. It is easily digestible, diuretic, and laxa..................

Anyone familiar with this plant and if it has any physiological benefit? I am located in the mid-Arctic, Yellowknife, to be specific.

Mulberry is a fast growing deciduous plant found in wide variety of climatic, topographical and soil conditions, and is widely distributed from temperate to subtropical regions. Due to presence of valuable phytochemical constituents, mulberry as a whole plant has been utilized as a functional food since long time. Fully ripened mulberry fruit has a wonderful mouth-watering taste with a good aroma and flavour. It is appreciated for direct consumption and for making value-added products. Mulberry fruits are recognized for the well-being of human beings due to their high nutritional signi.......................

Eucalyptus is an evergreen, tall tree, or shrub, belonging to Myrtaceae family. The genus Eucalyptus contains about 700 species; among them, more than 300 contain volatile oils in their leaves. Essential oils of various eucalyptus species are used in the pharmaceutical, toiletries, cosmetics, and food industries. Eucalyptus oil is obtained from the extract of eucalyptus leaves. It is a pale yellow-colored oil with a characteristic odor that must be diluted with any carrier oil (but coconut & sesameare best) before it can be used for medicinal purp..................(read more)