Plant Voice

The newsletter for friends of The Baca Institute of Ethnobotany

Volume 3 No. 3 Summer 1997

A Summer of Ethnobotany

Another successful summer of ethnobotany courses has been completed at the Baca Institute of Ethnobotany. This summer enrollment was the largest in our three years of offering courses. We had 28 students being introduced to ethnobotany, studying Navajo flea market plants or learning how to analyze chemical constituents found in over-the-counter plant medicines.

The Introduction to Ethnobotany course had five students who camped on the Institute grounds in Crestone. All five students were graduate students which made preparation time for the two instructors a bit longer. One student was a published author in the field of ecology; two were lab assistants, another was interested in beginning her own herbal company. This group was lively and intuitive.

Karen Adams from Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado co-taught the course with Enrique Salmon. Karen introduced the underlying theme of this course, archeo-ethnobotany. The students enjoyed the unique approach to ethnobotany and Karen's many hands-on projects.

Piggybacked to the Introduction to Ethnobotany course was Introduction to

Ethnopharmacology taught by phytochemist, Dr. Dennis Clark from Arizona State University. This course was the largest this summer with 14 students from various parts of the country and the Philippines. Among the students were several doctors and nurses interested in furthering their knowledge of plant medicines.

Dr. Clark introduced the students to the basics of plant chemical families and to the methods of assessing chemicals in plants. His purpose was to teach lab techniques that can be done in the field and with a minimum of materials. Lab work was dedicated to testing for plant chemical constituents found in plant medicines sold over-the-counter at health food and other markets, as well as unknown plants found around campus. It was discovered that many brands of herbal medicines do not contain the active ingredients that the labels advertise. The students enjoyed this course immensely although some commented that it should be expanded into a week long course for more credits. We will try to accommodate these comments next summer.

For the first time the Baca Institute offered a course in collaboration with Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Field

"I think that we learned about the cycle of life and how it relates to plants, people, & places. This way of teaching about cultures is very important and is not normally even touched on in other classes."

Student; Field Studies in Ethnobotany

Studies in Ethnobotany was a month long course focused on offering students background in ethnobotany with true field experiences. Seven students enrolled in the course based on the Ft. Lewis College campus. The course was taught by Enrique Salmon. During the first week the students were introduced to the field of ethnobotany. They were taught the history, theory, and philosophy of the discipline as well as field techniques. During the second and third weeks the group traveled to the San Francisco Peaks area north of Flagstaff, Arizona and set up a field base camp from where daily trips to the Navajo Reservation were made. During this time the students visited with Baca Institute Board member Phyllis Hogan who introduced the students to the unique ethnobotany of the region, as well as, to a Navajo family who live near Wupatki National Monument.

The students participated in the beginnings of a study of Navajo Flea Market plants. This ongoing study will identify and document the medicinal and ceremonial plants being offered for sale at the Flea markets and to access who is selling them, why, where they gather their plants, and who purchases the plants. This was the first summer of this study. The study of this unique distribution of medicinal and other plants and knowledge will continue next year.

The fourth and final week of the course found the students in the lab back at Ft. Lewis College. Here they analyzed their notes and data, arranged their information, and learned how to properly transfer their pressed plants into voucher specimen.

This group not only learned about ethnobotany but accomplished some important field work. The students met and identified some Navajo herbalists who might become irreplaceable consultants in

this ongoing study. In addition, the students collected some initial samples of the plants that are sold at the Navajo Flea markets across the Reservation. The students visited the flea markets at Kayenta and Tuba city where they met the herbalists/vendors and collected 18 different packaged herbal mixtures.

After visiting the flea markets and learning about plant uses and locations for collection the students were taken to the field to search for and identify the plants being sold at the markets. Not all the plants could be found in the field because only the Navajo names for the plants were provided by the vendors and the plants were sold in chopped, chipped, and dried form in small plastic bags. This provided the students with a better understanding of the many challenges faced by ethnobotanical researchers.

With the help of the herbariums at the Museum of Northern Arizona and at Ft. Lewis College some of the more difficult plants were identified. The data from this and future field courses will be synthesized into a series of journal articles and Plant Voice Collecting Notes. All the information, however, will culminate in a monograph on Navajo Flea Market plants and their role in Navajo plant knowledge and use today.

This has been a very exciting and fruitful summer of ethnobotany for the Baca Institute. We hope that upcoming summer programs equal or exceed this year.

"I was very impressed and appreciative of the interdisciplinary nature and inter connectedness of all the things we learned about...plants/people interrelationships! WAHOO!"

Student; Field Studies in Ethnobotany

"Wow! What an amazing experience! Thanks to everyone that has put time and effort into the Baca Institute and provided a most incredible learning experience."

Student; Introduction to Ethnobotany

Identifying Plants on the Crestone Campus

Identifying Plants on the Crestone Campus

Identifying Plants on the Crestone Campus

Identifying Plants on the Crestone Campus

Looking for Archaeobotanical Remains in the Lab at Crestone

Pressing Plants in the Field

Pressing Plants in the Field

Documenting the Status of Corn Cobs Before Fire Pit Testing

Collecting Notes: Yerba Mansa.

By Enrique Salmon & Sabrina Wiman

intestines and urinary tract. It helps to relieve the symptoms of colds including coughs, fevers, and joint pain. Other uses include hemorrhoids, sinus problems, vaginitis, and diaper rash.

The Pima make an infusion of the roots to apply to sores, and to drink for syphilis and colds. The Mayo boil the leaves in salt water, then use them to treat skin infections. They will also drink this mixture for cancer of the uterus. The Seri use the tea of Yerba Mansa in conjunction with Yerba Buena (Mentha arvensis) to promote conception and will hold the tea of the root in the mouth to relieve toothaches.

Although some of the reported remedies for Yerba Mansa seem to indicate that

Anemopsis californica is the Latin name for this very useful and popular plant. Yerba Mansa which translates into "gentle herb" is the only plant species in the Lizard Tail family (Saururaceae). The scientific name, Anemopsis, comes from its resemblance to the anemone

This plant, which flowers from May to August, is found usually in wet meadows, marshes, swamps, along streams, and in alkaline areas. It has basal leaves between 3 to 6 inches long. The tips of the heart shaped leaves are rounded. The often reddish-silvery cone flower blooms on a single stem that reaches up to 6 inches. Surrounding the bloom are four to eight white petallike bracts that grow up to 1-2 1/2 inches longs. In the fall this plant turns brick red.

Although the common name used in this article is Hispanic in origin, Yerba Mansa is recognized and used by many cultures throughout the Greater Southwest. The Opata of Sonora, Mexico know it as guaguat; The Yaqui and Mayo of Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico call it hiervelmanso; The Pima of Southern Arizona know it as vavish; The Seri call the plant comaanal. It is also used by the Chumash of California, as well as by the Costanoan, Kawaiisu, Mahuna, Paiute, and Shoshone.

Although the plant is available year round in many warmer climes of the Southwest, it is best picked when the leaves are brown which occurs is late fall or early winter.

Hispanic folks will use the tea of Yerba Mansa to heal ulcers and arthritis. The tea is also useful for poorly healing infections including conditions of the mouth, lungs,

antibiotic compounds would be found in the plant, none have been reported from extracts. The root does contain eugenol which is a menthol-like compound that provides the plant with its pungent scent and acts as a pain reliever. The plant also contains estragole, thymol, methylether, linalool, p-cymene, and asarinin all of which are aromatics.

Yerba Mansa seems to be a very useful and popular plant for several peoples in the

Greater Southwest and beyond. It is no wonder that its personality as the "gentle plant" was immortalized in its name.

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