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Securing and Sharing Biocultural Diversity

 

Biocultural diversity emphasizes the mutual connections between biodiversity and cultural knowledge, beliefs, and practices associated with biodiversity. This ranges from the use of plants for food, medicine, and other culturally valued traditions, to the sustainable traditional management of ecosystem services.

Supported by NSF award 2140478, this portal provides free public access to specimens that document cultural uses and relationships with plants and fungi from communities around the world. The interface is built around cultural uses and local plant names as described on the specimens, with cultural context provided by communities where available. For more information about ongoing opportunities for increased cultural context collaboration, please see NYBG’s Local Contexts institutional account. 

Collections Cited

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Messages from the Gods: A Guide to the Useful Plants of Belize

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Ethnobotany of Pohnpei: Plants, People, and Island Culture

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Ethnobotany of the Shuar of Eastern Ecuador

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Quantitative Ethnobotany and the Case for Conservation in Amazonia

Open to Collaborate

Local Contexts Open to Colloborate Notice

Our institution is committed to the development of new modes of collaboration, engagement, and partnership with Indigenous peoples for the care and stewardship of past and future heritage collections.

For more information about this Notice and Local Contexts, visit localcontexts.org and NYBG's Institutional account.

Native Land Digital

View biocultural collections mapped relative to Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages. 

Map data provided by Native Land Digital (https://native-land.ca/). Used with permission for educational and non-commercial purposes. Map does not represent or intend to represent official or legal boundaries of any Indigenous nations.

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Key Uses

Schoenobiblus peruvianus Standl.: Photo taken in the field [Douglas Daly 8340].

Materials and Products

Arachis hypogaea L.: Photo taken in the field [Douglas Daly 11191].

Food/Food Additives/Beverages

Cupania belizensis Standl. [Sapindaceae] based on M. J. Balick 1814 from Cayo District, Belize.

Fuels/Luminaries

Explore Further

Dive into our stories

THL_Cundeamor-traits
Traditional Medicine: Momordica charantia
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A Vanilla Voyage: Exploring the Spice's Legacy in Central America and the Carribean
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Exploring the Conservation Status of Jamaican Root Tonic Plants
Frond/Infructescence/Tree crown of Phoenix dactylifera L. [Arecaceae] based on unvouchered plants from Greece.
The Nourishing Power of Dates

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