Richard Evans Schultes (1915-2001) was probably the greatest explorer of the Amazon, and regarded among anthropologists and seekers alike as the “father of ethnobotany.”
Taking what was meant to be a short leave from Harvard in 1941, he surveyed the Amazon basin almost continuously for twelve years, during which time he lived among two dozen different Indian tribes, mapped rivers, secretly sought sources of rubber for the US government during … Read more
Baba Rahsan Abdul Hakim
Baba Rahsan Abdul Hakim grew up in Jamaica where his training in plants began when he was a small child at the hands of his grandmother, aunt and mother.
His grandfather, Charles Williams, was an important horticulturist and agriculturist who introduced a number of useful plants to Jamaica. He was the uncredited developer of the Hope Garden, the largest botanical garden in the Caribbean.
As an … Read more
If you don’t know Jeremy Narby, you should.
He’s a “diplomat between two systems of knowledge.”
Narby as born in Montreal in 1959 and grew up in Canada and Switzerland.
He studied history at the University of Canterbury and received a doctorate in anthropology from Stanford University.
Narby spent several years living with the Ashaninca in the Peruvian Amazon cataloging their understanding and use of the plants in their forest … Read more
Jim Duke – “Better Living Through Phytochemistry” – with Potentilla recta, Cinquefoil – The Green Farmacy Garden’s legal representative of Cannabis sativa as displayed in the Glaucoma plot of his garden.
If this is your first exposure to Dr. Duke, we strongly recommend you take some time to dig deeper into his work and career.
More more information:
A massive study of trees and human health in Toronto yields results that confirm what many sensible people feel.
Trees are good for you.
How good?
The statistics show that having ten or more trees on your block gives the health benefits of being seven years younger.
Yeah. Wow!
Original article:
Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center
Popular article from Toronto Star:
Believe it or not there has been a steady demand In China for American ginseng for well over two hundred years.
In fact, for a brief time, ginseng was America’s #1 export in terms of dollars and it’s still in demand n China. American ginseng is believed to have a different effect (“yin”) vs. Chinese ginseng (“yang”)
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Dr. James A. Duke, PhD, Ethnobotanist, PhD in Botany (UNC, Chapel Hill; Phi Beta Kappa; Distinguished Alumnus), served 3 years with Missouri Botanical Garden, 7 years with Battelle Memorial Institute in Panama, Colombia and Columbus Ohio, as an ecologist; and 27 years as economic botanist, with USDA in Beltsville, Md.
On Sept. 30, 1995, he retired from the USDA. Before retiring, Dr. Duke brought his ethnobotanical and phytochemical database online … Read more
John leads guided mushroom walks throughout the Catskill Mountain region. Learn about mushrooms in the woods and their functions in the ecosystem and our lives.
Click here to see the schedule for future walks
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Psychoactive plants have been omnipresent during all the stages of hominid evolution – but is there any evidence that they may have had an important influence or been the evolutionary catalyst for the emergence of modern humans?
Mythological tales of a “forbidden fruit” acting to awaken humankind from their “natural” or protohuman state are not uncommon, but some recent findings of science now seem to give new meaning to such … Read more
Site of Herb Walk in Chicago on Milwaukee and Kedzie Avenues in Logan Square
Amaranth — Amaranthus retroflexus — Ancient food of the Americas; very high mineral and protein content. Excellent for anemia
Sheep Sorrel — Rumex acetosella — Good food for salads, kidney aid
Milkweed — Asclepias syriaca — white milky sap for warts, edible flowers and very young pods
Prairie Dock — Silphium terebinthinaceum — decorative prairie plant… Read more
