Ethnobotany field final description
This will be a field walk where I will ask you to identify the plant by local name and ask you to describe a use for the plant. The final will be on paper and will be done in the field on a walk across campus.
For the local use you must be specific. Do not simply put "medicinal plant" as almost all plants have some medicinal use. Be specific as to the use. Specify the illness or condition treated, the material culture item that is made, or the food that is made from the plant. The local use can be from anywhere in Micronesia.
The final starts at 4:20 PM on 07 December at A101 and then proceeds out around campus. You must be present to participate.
Notes for the field walk
Wear appropriate clothes, sections of walk will be in the bush
Wear appropriate footwear. A hat may be helpful.
Bring something to write with - perhaps two things
Prepare for wet conditions, be ready to cope with rain. Do not bring things that cannot get wet
The field walk passes through a Pohnpeian and Japanese cemetery, avoid stepping or sitting on rocks in that area
If pregnant, submit medical evidence (a prenatal care note or something) to be excused from the final (this is due to a cultural taboo for pregnant women to be in the bush as dusk falls).
The class leaves A101 at 4:20. If you join the class late, missed plants cannot be made up.
The field final operates on an honor system. Work quietly. I want to know what you know, not what your classmate knows.
The local name will be the name in your language. For some students some of the plants will not have a local name. Those students get a pass on the local name but should still put a local use based on what they have learned in the course.
Recently seen the plants that might be seen again on a walk across campus:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-12-02&user_id=danaleeling&verifiable=any
The plants at the above link are not a comprehensive nor exhaustive list. Plants not on the list may be included on the day of the field final. Not all plants on the list will be included.
A more comprehensive list of observations on campus:
