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The theories of biological folk taxonomies have been discussed in the anthropological literature since the 1960’s with several researchers such as Brent Berlin and Eugene Hunn devoting many articles and even books to the subject. Despite many examinations of the naming systems present in languages all over the Americas, there have been few, if any, works about the linguistic principles behind the two major theories of naming. This paper frames the linguistic bases for the two theories using data drawn from a corpus of Anishinaabemowin plant names and describes the linguistic basis for both Berlin’s theory of a morphological (in the biological sense) basis for a hierarchical system of naming and Hunn’s theory of use-based names. This paper will demonstrate that the theories of folk taxonomies can be greatly improved if theories of morphological (in the linguistic sense) preference are considered along with theories based in biological morphology or cultural usage.

This report details the significance of the palm tree family or Palmae in the lives of humans. In chapter one, I summarize major palm uses around the world. As sources of products important to the world economic market, palms are ranked as one of the top three plant families. If additional products from national and local level markets are also considered, palms could possibly be the most important plant family to humans. A tremendous number of species are utilized across the world, mainly in subtropical and tropical areas, as vital sources for food, fiber, fuel, and medicine. The unique morphological and anatomical characteristics of palms are responsible for their great utility. These attributes are discussed in conjunction with the many uses they provide. A few species have been important in the lives of humans from some of the first civilizations; many of these species are still as important. Such a long history of interaction has also led to palms being interwoven into the religious and mythical frameworks of various societies and tribes. In chapter two, I detail the occurrence of medicinal uses for Old World and Australasian palms. Palms as novel sources of medicinal compounds have been underappreciated. A few papers in the last few decades have found a substantial number of medically relevant uses of Neotropical palms. As a parallel, this report presents medically relevant uses discovered in the last few decades for Old World and Australasian palms. Similar to Neotropical palms, the remainder of the world’s palms could possibly be important sources of medicines for more frequent traditional use and as possible sources for drugs created for application in conventional medical settings. An increasing awareness of palms as important sources of medicines could have implications for their conservation.

A Review of manuscripts written by European explorers and colonists affords the opportunity to develop a clearer understanding both of types of plants employed and their significance in religion and medicine during the 16th to 19th centuries. This paper is a distillation of accounts by thirteen European explorers, written between 1545 until 1861, about Laos and the Lao people in Siam. All of the references to plants and plant use have been extracted for an analysis of which plants European explorers viewed being used traditionally in Laos during this time period and information on how these plants were used and collected. Many of the plants described in the texts were medicinal in nature and some have been examined for modern pharmaceutical use. These pharmaceutical studies have substantiated the effectiveness of historical medicinal plant use. The texts also describe plants that were used in religious ceremonies and that continue to play an important role in Lao culture. Future comparative analysis of these early records with modern day observations of plant use should prove productive in formulating assessments of Traditional Environmental Knowledge loss and the impact of this loss on daily life. Understanding the plants that are important to native Lao in the past can lead to better methods of conservation in the future.