Ethnobotany, the study of the classification, use and management of plants by people, draws on a range of disciplines, including natural and social sciences, to show how conservation of plants and of local knowledge about them can be achieved. Ethnobotany is critical to the growing importance of developing new crops and products such as drugs from traditional plants. This book is the basic introduction to the field, showing how botany, anthropology, ecology, economics and linguistics are all employed in the techniques and methods involved. It explains data collection and hypothesis testing and provides practical ideas on fieldwork ethics and the application of results to conservation and community development. Case studies illustrate the explanations, demonstrating the importance of collaboration in achieving results. Published with WWF, UNESCO and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.

The potential for development of drugs and other chemically active substance from plants is huge and has only recently become widely recognized. Moreover, it is now all the more urgent due to widespread destruction of the plants' habitats and the human ethnic groups that possess the intimate knowledge of the potential of such plants. This subject - dubbed "ethnobotany" - has great implications for conservationists worldwide.;This book tackles this subject in a new series in plant conservation sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). As with each of the books in the series, it aims to give an authoritative guide to the subject in a clear, jargon-free style. It should therefore not only be of interest to academic botanists and pharmaceutical personnel but also to the many "amateur" collectors (or "parataxonomists"), as well as nature guides, and other field workers.;It is written in three parts, representing three levels of difficulty for ease of use. Working figures clarify key concepts, clear tables represent research data and examples explain case studies in some detail. The source book at the end of the book contains the most technical information, and points the way to more information. A full bibliography contains references to all cited articles and books.;This book should be of interest to conservation biologists, plant ecologists/economic botanists, ethnobotanists, conservation and aid agency personnel, agroforestry experts, anthropologists, and pharmaceutical/pharmacologists, phytochemists.

Ethnobotany, the study of the classification, use and management of plants by people, draws on a range of disciplines, including natural and social sciences, to show how conservation of plants and of local knowledge about them can be achieved. Ethnobotany is critical to the growing importance of developing new crops and products such as drugs from traditional plants. This book is the basic introduction to the field, showing how botany, anthropology, ecology, economics and linguistics are all employed in the techniques and methods involved. It explains data collection and hypothesis testing and provides practical ideas on fieldwork ethics and the application of results to conservation and community development. Case studies illustrate the explanations, demonstrating the importance of collaboration in achieving results. Published with WWF, UNESCO and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew