* Some outer islands will not have lycopodium, timber trees, or gymnosperms. The spice observation does not need to be a spice tree but can be a spice plant of any size.
▶️ icons are links to a video in support of the section
📖 are links to the relevant chapter of the textbook
ⓢ are assignments or assessments in Schoology
There is also a mobile access links page
Course structure
Botanic studies
Ethnographic experiences
1. 010 Most primitive, least evolved: cyanobacteria More complex, more evolved 2. 020 Primitive plants:
Mosses: spore capsules, spores, sperm, eggs;
Monilophytes [ferns]: sori, spores, sperm, eggs;
Lycophytes: cones, spores, sperm, eggs 4. 040 Seeded non-flowering plants: Gymnosperms: cones, pollen, naked seeds Most complex, most evolved: Seeded flowering plants (Angiosperms): 6. 060 vegetative morphology: leaf shapes 8. 080 floral morphology: flower shapes 9. 090 fruit types
3. 030 Healing plants: Plants that heal us 5. 050 Food plants: Plants that feed us 7. 070 Material culture plants: Plants that provide shelter, transportation, clothing, and that decorate our bodies, homes, and gardens 10. 100 Sacred plants: Plants that entertain, inspirit,and enrapture us,plants that inspire legends.
Syllabus
Required materials: Android or iOS smartphone and an Internet connection.
Course pace: The course pace is structured by the calendar above. The pace remains built around a twice a week schedule of activities. Assignments are submitted via iNaturalist or YouTube with links sent to the instructor. Tests are in Schoology.
Deliverables:
Four videos: healing with plants, cooking with plants, producing a material culture item with plants, recording the sacred use of a plant or a legend concerning a plant.
Fifteen specific iNaturalist observations: a first observation, a moss, a lycophyte, a monilophyte (fern), a gymnosperm, a spice plant, a timber tree, a monocot recogizable by the leaf, a dicot recognizable by the leaf, a monocot with a flower, a dicot with a flower, a monocot fruit, dicot fruit, an invasive plant, a plant with sacred or legendary significance.
Submissions policy: Videos will be submitted via YouTube. Botanic observations are submitted via the iNaturalist app. Grades are recorded in Schoology. A video editing app such as InShot may help reduce video file size for uploading on limited bandwidth.
Participation policy: Participation will also be tracked via analytics available in Schoology.
Communication policy: I can be contacted through the messaging capability in Schoology or via email at danaleeling@gmail.com. You can also contact me through these channels to request to set up a Zoom meeting with me. I do make every effort to respond to messages within 24 hours. Additional contact information: Cell: 921-7961
Course web site: http://www.comfsm.fm/~dleeling/ethnobotany/
Grading policy: Points are earned for correct answers on homework, tests, and presentations. You have do consistently well across all material to succeed in this course. Grading is based on the standard college policy: Obtain 90% of the points or more to obtain an A, 80% to 89% for a B, and so forth.
Program learning outcomes:
GE 3.4 Define and explain the concepts, principles, and theories of a field of science.
GE 4.2 Demonstrate knowledge of the major cultural issues of a person's own culture as well as other cultures.
MSP 2 Demonstrate proficiency in the geographical, historical, and cultural literacy of the Micronesian region. Course learning outcomes:
1. Identify local plants, their reproductive strategies, and morphology.
1.1 Identify local plants by local and scientific names.
1.2 Compare and contrast the distinguishing reproductive characteristics of different phyla of plants including mosses, seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
1.3 Label the key morphological features of the different phyla of plants including mosses, seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, and angiosperms including the morphology of the reproductive structures.
2. Communicate and describe the cultural use of local plants for healing, as food, as raw materials, and in traditional social contexts.
2.1 Communicate and describe the healing uses of local plants and the cultural contexts in which that healing occurs.
2.2 Communicate and describe the food uses of local plants and engage and describe the production processes
2.3 Communicate and describe the use of plants for transportation, for shelter, and in other material culture applications.
2.4 Engage in activities that explore the use, role, and importance of psychoactive plants within their traditional ceremonial cultural contexts.