Economic Botany
(SB:107-109)
SB 107 Economic Botany. General and Comprehensive Works
Summary:
Ethnobotany and Paleoethnobotany: A Bibliography is "...intended only as a
general overview of ethnobotany and paleoethnobotany." The primary thrust
is food. Also included are references on domesticated and wild foodstuffs,
dendrochronology, pollen analysis, medicine, culturally scarred
trees...tobacco, and mescalism and peyotism." Users should scroll to view
the bibliography's table of contents, displayed in the site's main page.
Below this area are the entire contents of the bibliography.
The site offers the table of contents, whose contents reflect: (1)
Acknowledgements; (2) Introduction; (3) Section One -- "Alphabetical by
Author"; (4) Section Two -- "Primary References Consulted"; (5) Section
Three -- "List of Scientific (Latin) and Common Names"; (6) Section Four --
"List of Tribes or Archaeologically Named Cultures"; and (7) Section Five
-- "Alphabetical Under Subject Groupings." Within the final section,
subjects discussed include: acorns/nuts; coprolites; cultigens;
dendrochronology; maize/grain; medicine; mescalism/peyoteism; origins of
agriculture; peeled/scarred trees; plant manuals/guides; pollen; rock
shelters/bluff shelters/caves; tobacco; and general sources.
The site is maintained by Michael A. Pfeiffer; Ozark-St.Francis National
Forest; Russellville, Arkansas.
To Search:
Scroll past table of contents to view contents of bibliography.
Summary:
EthnoBotDB is a plant reference database, a division of the Agricultural
Genome Information Server (AGIS), dedicated to "...genome information for
agriculturally important organisms." EthnoBotDB is an "...SQL-based
database...housed at the National Germplasm Resources Laboratory...[and]
contains 80,000 records of plant uses world-wide." The site's main page is
a search engine for the databse, revealing various fields for narrowing
search results.
Users may choose from several entry fields in searching: by common name (and
other subject categories); querying by example; query builder; ACEDB query
language; table maker; and selecting a new database. In the first field,
users may personalize their search through a selection from this group:
common
name, country, ethnobotany, family, genus, references, taxon, text, and use.
A browsing field can then be activated, which, in turn, produces a page of
possible sublists for narrowing purposes. A title chosen from this page
then yields the subject class and the plant's taxon. Specific taxonomical
details can then be found, as well as a list of all applicable plants within
a given portion of a plant's taxon.
Querying by example and the query builder fields are both activated through
a keyword entry system. Knowledge of the ACEDB query language is required
for its respective searching method; users may create a table for results
through the table-making option. Accessing other databases occurs through
the last search field on the main page. In all cases, users must follow
onscreen links to view desired records.
The database was developed by Stephen M. Beckstrom-Sternberg; and is
maintained within the National Germplasm Resources Laboratory (NGRL), the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS); the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To Search:
Fill in desired search class (first entry field) within search engine. Then
choose "browsing" method or more specified search. Follow onscreen links to
view desired
plant records.
Summary:
The Plants for a Future Species Database Bibliography supplements the Plants
for a Future Species Database, which "...contains details of nearly 7,000
plants, all of which are either edible, have medicinal properties or have
some other such use as fibers, oils or soaps. For each plant the database
contains details of the uses of the plants, as well as information of the
environment it will grow in and cultivation details." The bibliography is a
list of all the books referred to within the database; it is accessible from
the homepage of Plants for a Future.
At the top of the site, users will find a link to the Plants for a Future
homepage, where additional information and the database can be found. The
site's creators note that numbers appearing in brackets here are the
reference numbers of their respective sources within the database. As such,
entries are not in alphabetical order, but occur in order of appearance
within
the database. Users should scroll to view the site's contents.
Each text's record contains: (1) the work's reference number within the
database; (2) author's name (last, first initial); (3) title of the book;
(4) publication date; (5) ISBN number; and (6) name of publisher. In
addition, most titles also feature a short description of their contents and
scope.
The site is sponsored by Plants for a Future; Lostwithiel, Cornwall,
England.
To Search:
Scroll to view contents of site.