Plantlore

Lore is defined as the knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote. The lore of plants has long been an integral part of our lives. It has influenced our cuisine, medicine, and religion.

Processing of raw plant materials into a myriad of forms has become the norm, a practice which has become so extensive, a cultural amnesia about the plant-based origin of many products has developed. For instance, how readily can you connect a pill to a plant? Frequently, pharmaceuticals derive one or more active ingredients from plant sources. For example, the advent of aspirin was inspired, in part, by the salicin present in willow bark.

Plantlore vs. ethnobotany

As a rule, if your resource is about the topic of general plantlore or folk remedies and not a specific, indigenous culture, it belongs in the plantlore department. If, however, your resource is about how a specific native culture uses a particular plant or their attitude toward plants in general, that resource belongs in ethnobotany. Also, there's no harm in linking your resource to both categories, as this increases the odds that it will be useful to our users!

Learning projects

• Edible plant identification

See also

• Ethnobotany department