Ethnobotany of Palau is a two-volume series that examines the relationship between plants, people and traditional culture in the Republic of Palau. Palau is a place where cultural traditions are still intact, including respect for the environment, a value foundational to Palauan society. Based on a decade of field studies that began in 2007 as part of the Plants and People of Micronesia Program, it builds on prior studies of the Palauan flora, and emphasizes the biocultural diversity and wisdom of the Palauan people and their environment. The research included studies of botany, traditional uses of plants, resource management, phytochemistry, conservation and other topics intended to help support "cultural memory" for the people of Palau and the generations who will follow. These volumes result from a collaboration and partnership of the Belau National Museum, the New York Botanical Garden, National Tropical Botanical Garden and other institutions, communities and civic groups involving more than 75 individuals--plant collectors, local experts and ethnobotanical contributors. Volume 2 is an ethnobotanical compendium of information on local uses of plants, contributed by the community, as well as an updated checklist of the vascular plants of Palau. Individual indexes for each volume direct the reader to the material contained in that particular book, so that they can be used separately as needed.

Ethnobotany of Palau is a two-volume series that examines the relationship between plants, people and traditional culture in the Republic of Palau. Palau is a place where cultural traditions are still intact, including respect for the environment, a value foundational to Palauan society. Based on a decade of field studies that began in 2007 as part of the Plants and People of Micronesia Program, it builds on prior studies of the Palauan flora, and emphasizes the biocultural diversity and wisdom of the Palauan people and their environment. The research included studies of botany, traditional uses of plants, resource management, phytochemistry, conservation and other topics intended to help support "cultural memory" for the people of Palau and the generations who will follow. These volumes result from a collaboration and partnership of the Belau National Museum, the New York Botanical Garden, National Tropical Botanical Garden and other institutions, communities and civic groups involving more than 75 individuals--plant collectors, local experts and ethnobotanical contributors. Volume 1 contains an introductory chapter on Palau and its environment, followed by a study of human impact on the landscape; the role of plants throughout Palauan life, from birth to death; the bai, a structure essential to Palauan culture; the relationship of people to the ocean that surrounds them; the importance of dait (Colocasia esculenta), a plant key to sustaining Palauan culture; the importance of traditional medicine; and, ethnomedical and phytochemical studies of Palauan plants.

Is it possible that plants have shaped the very trajectory of human cultures? Using riveting stories of fieldwork in remote villages, two of the world’s leading ethnobotanists argue that our past and our future are deeply intertwined with plants. Creating massive sea craft from plants, indigenous shipwrights spurred the navigation of the world’s oceans. Today, indigenous agricultural innovations continue to feed, clothe, and heal the world’s population. One out of four prescription drugs, for example, were discovered from plants used by traditional healers. Objects as common as baskets for winnowing or wooden boxes to store feathers were ornamented with traditional designs demonstrating the human ability to understand our environment and to perceive the cosmos. Throughout the world, the human body has been used as the ultimate canvas for plant-based adornment as well as indelible design using tattoo inks. Plants also garnered religious significance, both as offerings to the gods and as a doorway into the other world. Indigenous claims that plants themselves are sacred is leading to a startling reformulation of conservation. The authors argue that conservation goals can best be achieved by learning from, rather than opposing, indigenous peoples and their beliefs. KEY FEATURES • An engrossing narrative that invites the reader to personally engage with the relationship between plants, people, and culture • Full-color illustrations throughout—including many original photographs captured by the authors during fieldwork • New to this edition—"Plants That Harm," a chapter that examines the dangers of poisonous plants and the promise that their study holds for novel treatments for some of our most serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s and substance addiction • Additional readings at the end of each chapter to encourage further exploration • Boxed features on selected topics that offer further insight • Provocative questions to facilitate group discussion Designed for the college classroom as well as for lay readers, this update of Plants, People, and Culture entices the reader with firsthand stories of fieldwork, spectacular illustrations, and a deep respect for both indigenous peoples and the earth’s natural heritage.

This abstract outlines the objectives of an assessment conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nation in Palau. The assessment identified three main challenges: firstly, the need to acknowledge and reflect the contributions of women to household and rural economies in policies, strategies, plans and programs. Secondly, gender inequalities limit the capacity of women in Palau to develop their potential. Finally, the recognition of gender equality as a driver to sustainable development is beginning to be incorporated into public policies, strategies, plans and programs. These findings highlight the importance of addressing these challenges in order to achieve greater gender equality and empowerment for rural women in Palau.

"This volume emerges from a ground-breaking conference held in the Republic of Palau on cultural heritage in the Pacific. It includes bold investigations of the role of cultural heritage in identity-making, and the ways in which community engagement informs heritage management practices. This is the first broad and detailed investigation of the unique and irreplaceable cultural heritage of the Pacific from a heritage management perspective. It identifies new trends in research and assesses relationships between archaeologists, heritage managers and local communities. The methods which emerge from these relationships will be critical to the effective management of heritage sites in the 21st century. A wonderful book which emerges from an extraordinary conference. Essential reading for cultural heritage managers, archaeologists and others with an interest in caring for the unique cultural heritage of the Pacific Islands".

Plant Tissue Culture Techniques and Experiments is a manual that contains laboratory exercises about the demonstration of the methods and different plant materials used in plant tissue culture. It provides an overview on the plant cell culture techniques and plant material options in selecting the explant source. This book starts by discussing the proper setup of a tissue culture laboratory and the selection of the culture medium. It then explains the determination of an explant which is the ultimate goal of the cell culture project. The explant is a piece of plant tissue that is used in tissue culture. Furthermore, the book discusses topics about callus induction, regeneration and morphogenesis process, and haploid plants from anther and pollen culture. The meristem culture for virus-free plants and in vitro propagation for commercial propagation of ornamentals are also explained in this manual. The book also provides topics and exercises on the protoplast isolation and fusion and agrobacterium-mediated transformation of plants. This manual is intended for college students, both graduate and undergraduate, who study chemistry, plant anatomy, and plant physiology.

Despite its small size, Belize is one of the most ecologically and culturally diverse nations in Central America. Over 3,400 species of plants can be found here, within a diversity of ecological habitats. Because of this, Belize is paradise for ecotourists, hosting over 900,000 visitors annually, who enjoy the natural habitat and friendly people of this nation. Many of the plants of Belize have a long history of being "useful," with properties that have served traditional herbal healers of the region as well as those who use plants as food, forage, fiber, ornament, in construction and ritual, along with many other purposes. With Messages from the Gods: A Guide to the Useful Plants of Belize, Drs. Michael Balick and Rosita Arvigo give us the definitive resource on the many species of plants in Belize and their folklore, as well as the natural history of the region and a detailed discussion of "bush" uses of plants, including for traditional healing and life in the forest, past and present. Both Balick and Arvigo bring important perspectives to the project, Balick as ethnobotanical scientist from The New York Botanical Garden, and Arvigo as a former apprentice to a Belizean healer and an experienced physician. The book has been decades in the making, a culmination of a biodiversity research project that The New York Botanical Garden and international and local collaborators have had in motion since 1987. Drs. Balick, Arvigo and their colleagues have collected and identified thousands of plants from the region, and have worked extensively with hundreds of Belizean people, many of them herbal healers and bushmasters, to record uses for many of the species. This collaboration with local plant experts has produced a fascinating discussion of the intersection of herbal medicine and spiritual belief in the area, and these interviews are used to compliment and contextualize the numerous species accounts presented. The book is both a cultural study and a specialized field guide; information is provided on many different native and introduced plants in Belize and their traditional and contemporary uses including as food, medicine, fiber, in spiritual practices and many other purposes. Richly illustrated with over 600 images and photographs, Messages from the Gods: A Guide to The Useful Plants of Belize will serve as the primary reference and guide to the ethnobotany of Belize for many years to come.

Ethnobotany of Pohnpei examines the relationship between plants, people, and traditional culture on Pohnpei, one of the four island members of the Federated States of Micronesia. Traditional culture is still very strong on Pohnpei and is biodiversity-dependent, relying on both its pristine habitats and managed landscapes; native and introduced plants and animals; and extraordinary marine life. This book is the result of a decade of research by a team of local people and international specialists carried out under the direction of the Mwoalen Wahu Ileilehn Pohnpei (Pohnpei Council of Traditional Leaders). It discusses the uses of the native and introduced plant species that have sustained human life on the island and its outlying atolls for generations, including Piper methysticum (locally known as sakau and recognized throughout the Pacific as kava), which is essential in defining cultural identity for Pohnpeians. The work also focuses on ethnomedicine, the traditional medical system used to address health conditions, and its associated beliefs. Pohnpei, and indeed the Micronesian region, is one of the world’s great centers of botanical endemism: it is home to many plant species found nowhere else on earth. The ultimate goal of this volume is to give readers a sense of the traditional ethnobotanical knowledge that still exists in the area, to make them aware of its vulnerability to modernization, and to encourage local people to respect this ancient knowledge and keep such practices alive. It presents the findings of the most comprehensive ethnobotanical study undertaken to date in this part of Micronesia and sets a new standard for transdisciplinary research and collaboration.

As the first botanical history of World War II, Plants Go to War examines military history from the perspective of plant science. From victory gardens to drugs, timber, rubber, and fibers, plants supplied materials with key roles in victory. Vegetables provided the wartime diet both in North America and Europe, where vitamin-rich carrots, cabbages, and potatoes nourished millions. Chicle and cacao provided the chewing gum and chocolate bars in military rations. In England and Germany, herbs replaced pharmaceutical drugs; feverbark was in demand to treat malaria, and penicillin culture used a growth medium made from corn. Rubber was needed for gas masks and barrage balloons, while cotton and hemp provided clothing, canvas, and rope. Timber was used to manufacture Mosquito bombers, and wood gasification and coal replaced petroleum in European vehicles. Lebensraum, the Nazi desire for agricultural land, drove Germans eastward; troops weaponized conifers with shell bursts that caused splintering. Ironically, the Nazis condemned non-native plants, but adopted useful Asian soybeans and Mediterranean herbs. Jungle warfare and camouflage required botanical knowledge, and survival manuals detailed edible plants on Pacific islands. Botanical gardens relocated valuable specimens to safe areas, and while remote locations provided opportunities for field botany, Trees surviving in Hiroshima and Nagasaki live as a symbol of rebirth after vast destruction.

This new 5-volume set, Ethnobotany of India, provides an informative overview of human-plant interrelationships in India, focusing on the regional plants and their medicinal properties and uses. Each volume focuses on a different significant region of India, including Volume 1: Eastern Ghats and Deccan Volume 2: Western Ghats and West Coast of Peninsular India Volume 3: North-East India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Volume 4: Western and Central Himalaya Volume 5: The Indo-Gangetic Region and Central India With chapters written by experts in the field, the book provides comprehensive information on the tribals (the indigenous populations of the region) and knowledge on plants that grow around them. Each volume includes an introductory chapter with an overview of the region and then goes on to cover ethnic diversity and culture of the ethnic tribes plants used for healing and medical purposes for humans and animals ethnic food plants and ethnic food preparation specific information on the ethnomedicinal plants, the parts used, and the diseases cured other uses of plants by the ethnic tribes, such as for fiber, dyes, flavor, and recreation conservation, documentation, and management efforts of the ethnic communities and their plant knowledge The books include the details of the plants used, their scientific names, the parts used, and how the plants are used, providing the what, how, and why of plant usage. The volumes are well illustrated with over 100 color and 130 b/w illustrations. Together, the five volumes in the Ethnobotany of India series bring together the available ethnobotanical knowledge of India in one place. India is one of the most important regions of the old world, and its ancient and culturally rich and diverse knowledge of ethnobotany will be valuable to many in the fields of botany and plant sciences, pharmacognosy and pharmacology, nutraceuticals, and others. The books also consider the threat to plant biodiversity imposed by environmental degradation, which impacts cultural diversity.