ABSTRACT
Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the dynamic relationships that exist between people and plants (Alcorn, 1995). Ethnobotanists aim to document, describe and explain complex relationships between cultures and plants, focusing primarily on how plants are used, perceived and managed by human societies. This includes the use of plants for food, clothing, currency, rituals, medicines, dyes, construction and cosmetics. While ethnobotany originally addressed interactions between people and diversity at the level of plant species, the current scope of this research field now addresses aspects of plant diversity at system, landscape, and also genetic levels. Moreover, it emphasizes the links between conservation and management, thus the human role of biodiversity, and, together with associated traditional knowledge, it creates a space for the better use of our expertise in the development of a new professionalism in plant genetic resources, as further elaborated by De Boef et al. in Chapter 7.1.
