Ethnobotanical garden clean-up 23 August 2007

In rain at the end of a rainy day the students toured the ethnobotanical garden and then cleaned up around the plants of the garden.

Michelle and Julia working near the Ixora casei

The pruning, preening, and cleaning ground rules for the garden are intended to promote shade and native ferns. In the ethnobotanical garden the threat to the collection is primarily an invasive sun-loving grass (Ichaemum polystachum, reh padil) and an aggressive native vine (Merremia peltata, iohl, puhlah, fitaw, wachatal). Thus the following guidelines to cleaning garden:

1. Retain as much shade as possible. Do not cut Premna obtusifolia (fienkack, topwuk, nior, niyóór, liorr, arr), Morinda citrifolia (noni, ii, weipwul, nopwur, mangal'wag), Campnosperma brevipetiolata (elahk, dohng, ramluw, rramllaw), or other small trees that provide shade.
2. Retain, to the extent possible, ferns. The bulk of the ferns in the garden are native to Pohnpei and should be encouraged to grow. Clear carefully around all ferns and other seedless vascular plants.

Cleaning near the Senna alata.

Intermingled over an area of a few square feet under the west side of the east mango tree is a nice fern collection including Asplenium nidus, Microsorum scolopendria, Nephrolepis spp., Thelypteris maemonensis, and Macrothelypteris torresiana. This fern collection also helps demonstrated undivided, undivided lobed, singly divide, doubly divided, and triply divided fern fronds. A good image of this collection has yet to be captured.

Sinolet, Juslyn, and Elterina

Lina; Jörg and Elterina in the background

Ethnobotany • Courses • COMFSM