Ethnobotany Learning Center

Ethnobotany is the study of how different cultures use plants—for housing, tools, clothing, medicine, and ceremony. All cultures have ethnobotany, but ethnobotanists work mainly with indigenous (native) peoples because their unique knowledge is most likely to be lost. Around the world, native peoples and the plants that they have relied upon are disappearing at an alarming rate. Our garden represents the importance of preserving cultures as well as habitats.

• Habitats That Form Our World  - Learn about the native habitats you can discover in the Ethnobotany Garden.
• Ethnobotany: Linking Past to Present  - Learn about the native cultures that have used California plants