1: Economic Botany Flashcards
Why is Zizania palustris (Manoomin) a key case in economic botany?
It’s a traditional staple food for Anishinaabeg and Great Lakes Indigenous peoples, showcasing plants’ cultural and economic value.
What is the “Honourable Harvest” concept?
An Indigenous philosophy that sees harvesting as a gift.
One must ask permission, give thanks, avoid taking too much, and sometimes not harvest if the plant is unwilling.
What freshwater challenge does Manoomin face, and what is its adaptation?
Low soil oxygen.
Manoomin has aerenchyma, spongy tissue that allows air to move from shoots to roots.
What germination challenges do Manoomin seeds face? Why is soil aeration important?
Challenges: poor soil aeration and sensitivity to sulfates/sulfides.
Aeration is crucial for oxygen and root development.
Describe Manoomin’s floral arrangement and pollination method.
Female inflorescences are above male ones.
- It is wind-pollinated.
Seeds ripen asynchronously over ~2 weeks.
What is an economic externality?
Give a Manoomin-related example.
A cost/benefit affecting third parties not in the transaction.
Example: Fertilizer runoff (between farmer & company) harms Manoomin harvesters.
Compare Western economic valuation (invisible hand) to Indigenous values (Honourable Harvest).
Western: self-interest = societal good.
Indigenous: plants are relatives; value = respect, sustainability.
Impacts resource use philosophies.
What are Manoomin’s ecological adaptations and vulnerabilities?
Adaptations: aerenchyma, wind pollination, trichomes.
Vulnerabilities: sulfate toxicity, low oxygen soils, slow seed dispersal.
How can interdisciplinary approaches help manage plants?
Merging Indigenous knowledge with science improves ecological sustainability and cultural respect for plant-based economies.
Define “Aerenchyma.”
Plant tissue with air spaces that aids gas exchange, especially in waterlogged conditions.
What is “Economic Botany”?
The study of how people use and value plants economically.
What are trichomes, and what’s their role in plants?
Small hairs on plant surfaces; they help anchor seeds during germination.
What does “asynchronous seed ripening” mean ?
Seeds on a single plant ripen at different times over a ~2-week period.
What is Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)?
Indigenous and local knowledge about the environment, developed over generations through lived experience.
