The Ethnobotany of Herbal Medicines and Seminole Healing Plants, Illustrated in Watercolor

Chris Paget

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

Second Department

Humanities

First Advisor

McCord, Elzie

Keywords

Ethnobotany of Hebrew Medicine, Seminole Medicine, Botanical Illustration

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

This thesis examines the contributions higher plants have made to medicine, the future significance of botanical medicine, and the role herbs have played in the medicine of indigenous societies. The status of the current medical industry is explored in relation to environmental health and pharmaceutical use. Alternative/complementary, holistic, and integrative approaches to medicine are also discussed in relation to scientific medicine. This paper will examine the contributions of indigenous societies to medicine, and refers to the Seminole Tribe of Florida as a local example. The second half of the thesis discusses the potential for integration of indigenous knowledge of plants with modem explorations in plant medicine. The potential of integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with modem environmental conservation is also discussed. The primary research methods employed include examining several types of literature; mainly recent and past journal articles, books, and theses/dissertations. As little information has been published on the Seminole society, most of the information is consolidated from older first-hand accounts, with the exception of one or two sources. For the botanical illustrations, I photographed the plants in the Everglades, Myakka State Park, Oscar Scherer State Park, and on the Crosley Estate grounds. The findings of this study indicate that indigenous knowledge has contributed much to modem science, and that the integration of principles would be beneficial to indigenous groups, medicine, and environmental conservation. More research is needed in the area of plant medicines before they are marketed, as many are toxic. More research of plants would also benefit medical botany, as very few of the world's plant species have been studied.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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