Ethnobotany of Campus Flora

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to create a resourceful website that documents the ethnobotanical uses of plants found on the Occidental College campus. Ethnobotany is the study of plants as they relate to people; this includes medicines, edible properties of food cultivars, tools and crafts, and ornamental uses of certain plants found within a certain geographic region utilized by a specific group of people. Establishing the periphery of campus as the outer boundaries of this study limits the geographic region of study to a manageable introductory project. Since nearly half of the plants on campus are exotic (non-native to the southern California area), the different groups of people that use the plants will vary. For example, I will investigate the various uses of Coast Live Oak in the southern California area by the Tongva people, the native Los Angelinos.