Researchers are curious about where these plants occur naturally, how they are cultivated, if any are ecologically threatened, and the role they play in daily life, ceremonies, and local medicines both within and between the many different ethnic groups of the area. Participants will help UC Davis' Dr. Kevin Rice and Jeanine Pfeiffer to compile a list of native trees and gather information on their local names, uses, and conservation status. They will also collect samples, map plant distributions, and photograph plants growing and in use. The team will reside in comfortable beachside cottages in a garden setting on the northwest coast of Lombok Island. Balinese temples, nature reserves, and coral reefs are free-time attractions.
Weather is warm and pleasant.
Lombok Island, Indonesia. In the US, the most popular ethnobotanical studies are those investigating homeopathic remedies involving herbs, or how Native Americans cultivated and used various indigenous plants like cranberry, blueberry, and amaranth. Yet most of the studies on how tribal peoples in the US use plants were undertaken well after these traditional societies were fragmented or destroyed by foreign invasion or cultural hegemony. This research will attempt to fill major gaps in our knowledge of the ecology and flora of Lombok, the cultural practices of its indigenous inhabitants, and the genetic bases and conservation status of native plant species. Ecological authorities call for increased study on the monsoon, lower montane and secondary lowland dry tropical forests dominant in the research area.