The Society for Ethnobotany

Fostering research and education on the past, present, and future uses of plants by people.

 

March 24, 2014

Dear Friends,

This year is historic for Society for Economic Botany.  It is the first time that we will meet jointly with the Society of Ethnobiology as well as at the home of the Cherokee Nation.  It is an opportunity to reflect individually and collectively on the Society´s interest and responsibilities with respect to people and plant relationships.  At our 55th Annual Meeting, those members who have not been associated with Society of Ethnobiology can acquaint themselves with new people and perspectives through personal interactions, oral presentations, posters, workshops, and field trips within the sphere of Native America. 

Being a founding member of SofE, I remember the energizing environment at Prescott College (Prescott, Arizona) where we first met in 1978.  The American Southwest was a powerful stimulant that combined people, plants and animals across time as represented by its split-twig zoomorphic figurine made from coppiced twigs of fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica).  Without its own journal, we published the first papers in volume 44 (numbers 2 & 3) of Kiva (Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History).  Some of us were also members of SEB.  We wondered how the academic fields of Economic Botany and Ethnobiology would interact.  Most of us were in school (or recently graduated) and struggling to survive in an academic world that did not understand our aspirations to span different disciplines, to synergize the energies derived from various cultures, and to advocate respect for Humankind and Nature.  Some of us were new members of SEB with a focus on studying the past, present, and future uses of plants by people.  We asked ourselves: Are we duplicating efforts?  Is there a place and need for two societies dealing with plants and people?  Obviously SofE is more diversified by including animals as well as members of the plant and fungi kingdoms that we emphasize in SEB.
 
Many of us question:  What are the relationships between economic botany and ethnobotany?  Are they synonymous? Do we need to distinguish between them? Is one a subset of the other? What scientific and cultural foundations do they share?  Last year, the Council discussed the “image” and “branding” of SEB with respect to our society´s future.  The integration of this joint meeting´s program will afford another perspective.
 
The perception of economic botany is related, in part, to the adjective “economic.”  This term provokes negative connotations derived during the 19th century when much of the emphasis in economic entomology and economic ornithology was focused on the destruction of noxious animals.  The negativity associated with this word was a concern to the founders of the SEB.  One of our society’s founders, Dave Rogers explained to me that is why our organization´s name is: Society for (and not of) Economic Botany.
 
This year we have the opportunity to reflect within an academically, biologically and culturally diverse environment on what is Economic Botany and what is our personal and collective commitment to our field.  I look forward to sharing this experience with you in Cherokee.

Now is the time to REGISTER for "The Energy of People, Places, and Life" the joint conference taking place in Cherokee from May 11-15, 2014.    Over 130 papers, several films, and 50 posters are scheduled for Monday through Wednesday.  CLICK HERE to view the 2014 Conference Sessions, posters and abstracts.  Read a bit more about the plans for our annual conference on our WEB SITE.  There are some fantastic field trips, too!
 
Saludos,
 
Robert Bye
President, Society for Economic Botany
 
Mission: To foster and encourage scientific research, education, and related activities on the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and people, and to make the results of such research available to the scientific community and the general public through meetings and publications.

Society for Economic Botany


March 10, 2014

Dear Friends,

EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS MARCH 15:
This year, we are holding the first joint conference between the Society of Ethnobiology (SoE) and the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) in Cherokee, North Carolina, from May 11-14, 2014. Now is the time to REGISTER, when you cansave significantly with an early registration discount!  The theme for the conference will be "The Energy of People, Places, and Life."  

Over 130 papers, several films, and 50 posters are scheduled for Monday through Wednesday.  CLICK HERE to view the 2014 Conference Sessions, posters and abstracts.

The conference features a number of special events and sessions, including a society-wide field trip on Monday - the Cherokee Heritage Experience: visits to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Qualla Arts and Crafts, and to Oconaluftee Village where Cherokee demonstrate traditional crafts. This year we will enjoy two distinguished talks, one by our Distinguished Economic Botanist (Dr. Jan Salick) and one by the Distinguished Ethnobiologist (Dr. Gene Hunn). You may sign up to participate in up to two OSN-sponsored educational hands-on workshops  on Tuesday. Students host an open-microphone student reception on Monday night, and a student-mentor lunch will be held on Tuesday.  Read a bit more about the plans for our annual conference on our WEB SITE.  There are some fantastic field trips, too!


I hope to see you in Cherokee this May.

All the very best,

Bob Bye
President
Society for Economic Botany
 
Mission: To foster and encourage scientific research, education, and related activities on the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and people, and to make the results of such research available to the scientific community and the general public through meetings and publications.

Society for Economic Botany
4475 Castleman Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
Ph. 314-577-9566, Fx 314-577-9515
www.EconBot.org


SOCIETY FOR ECONOMIC BOTANY

Dear Friends,

PLANTS AND PEOPLE Spring Issue Online:

Don't forget to take a look at the latest issue of Plants and People online.  Just CLICK HERE to download the PDF of the newsletter.  There is a terrific interview there with our Distinguished Economic Botanist, Dr. Jan Salick.  You will also find detailed information on the annual conference, information about student activities, and insights on some recent ethnobotanical publications.

EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS MARCH 15:
Now is the time to REGISTER, when you can save significantly with an early registration discount!  We will hold the first joint conference between the Society of Ethnobiology (SoE) and the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) in Cherokee, North Carolina, from May 11-14, 2014. The theme for the conference will be "The Energy of People, Places, and Life."  The conference features a number of special events and sessions, including a society-wide field trip on Monday - the Cherokee Heritage Experience: visits to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Qualla Arts and Crafts, and to Oconaluftee Village where Cherokee demonstrate traditional crafts. This year we will enjoy two distinguished talks, one by our Distinguished Economic Botanist (Dr. Jan Salick) and one by the Distinguished Ethnobiologist (Dr. Gene Hunn). You may sign up to participate in up to two OSN-sponsored educational hands-on workshops on Tuesday. Students host an open-microphone student reception on Monday night, and a student-mentor lunch will be held on Tuesday. Over 130 papers, several films, and 50 posters are scheduled for Monday through Wednesday.  Read a bit more about the plans for our annual conference on our WEB SITE.  There are some fantastic field trips, too!


I hope to see you in Cherokee this May.

All the very best,

Bob Bye
President
Society for Economic Botany
 
Mission: To foster and encourage scientific research, education, and related activities on the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and people, and to make the results of such research available to the scientific community and the general public through meetings and publications.

 

Greetings to you all!

Time is flying, and it is difficult to believe that our Society's meeting in Plymouth, England is now two months past.  The 160 attendees at the 2013 conference made for a collegial and international exchange of ideas and research.  I would like to personally extend a big thank you to the conference organizer Ian Martin and Past President Gail Wagner for their tireless work to put on such a successful meeting.  Thank you!

Our 54th annual conference at Plymouth University was memorable in many ways.  

  • The Society honored Will McClatchey as the 2013 Distinguished Economic Botanist.
  • Trish Flastner received the SEB President's Award for outstanding Service to the Society.
  • Lauren Moscoe, University of Wisconsin-Madison received the 2013 Richard Evans Schultes Research Award
  • Alexandra Towns, Naturalis Biodviersity Center at Leiden University, Netherlands received the 2013 Edmund H. Fulling Award
  • Jocelyn Mueller, received the 2013 Julia F. Morton Award
  • Took a wonderful field trip to world-renowned Kew Botanic Gardens
  • Offered a record number of hands-on workshops
  • Provided Pecha Kucha - a new format of short, inspiring and innovative presentations

We are excited to announce the 55th SEB annual meeting and the first joint conference between the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) and the Society of Ethnobiology(SoE) in Cherokee, North Carolina, from May 11-14, 2014. Cherokee, the home of theEastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina.  We encourage people to take this opportunity to stay and explore this beautiful area.  More information on meeting plans and the area can be found on our web site.

Dedicated members are the core of any society, and all of you have for a long time supported SEB’s work and mission. SEB has strengthened its international profile during the last few years, and I am very happy to report that the number of members from outside the US is steadily increasing.  Our journal's Impact Factor has risen steadily since 2005, and the latest figure is our highest to date - 1.925.  We also have actively been supporting botanical education efforts through the Open Science Network, PlantingScience, and now the launch of EconBotEd.

EconBotEd Digital LibraryA New Resource
Do you have a resource for teaching or learning  of economic botany to share?  Resource Editors Sunshine Brosi and Gail Wagner are pleased to announce a call for submissions to SEB’s digital library. Inquiry activities, data sets, syllabi, images: these are only a few of the resource types that are welcome. EconBotED, the SEB’s new resource portal, is run in conjunction with companion portals of the Ecological Society of America, the Botanical Society of America, and the Society for the Study of Evolution.  Peer-reviewed resources in EconBotED will be searchable across these four portals and included in the National Digital Science Library.  Your resource supporting botanical education could reach a wide audience. If you have resource to contribute, we’re here to help you share it.  Please visit http://econboted.econbot.org

The Society for Economic Botany is what its members make of it, so I encourage you to get involved: volunteer for a committee, submit news and notices to the newsletter, make suggestions for what you’d like to see at the conference, and make yourself heard.  It won't be long and we will begin membership renewal season for 2014.  I know that when the call goes out for renewal, that you will all respond quickly. Pleasecontinue to be ambassadors for our Society by encouraging students and other colleagues around the world to join us in our mission.

Best wishes, on behalf of SEB President, Robert Bye

Bill Dahl, Executive Director
Society for Economic Botany
 
Mission: To foster and encourage scientific research, education, and related activities on the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and people, and to make the results of such research available to the scientific community and the general public through meetings and publications.

Society for Economic Botany
4475 Castleman Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110
Ph. 314-577-9566, Fx 314-577-9515
www.EconBot.org

President's Update